KZSC Santa Cruz

On-demand news, interviews, and live performances from KZSC 88.1 FM Santa Cruz - Non-commercial, educational, community radio for the Monterey Bay, California

Scott Cooper_Singer, Songwriter, Journeyman in Grateful Dead cover bands_on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) Scott's band "Rosebud" started just before Covid as a project with piano player Laclan Kane (where "Rosebud" is featured prominently at the end of "Citizen Kane"); Scott played an original, which he classififed as a "Jerry Garcia yacht rock song", "You Never Need to Say"; songs take a while, sometimes years, & Scott has a "napkin stash" of lyric lines he's accumulated over the years. Scott came to Santa Cruz in 1986, studying art & psychology, graduating in psych. He was a drummer in the blues world, the house drummer for a weekly blues jam, and Johnny Shines hired his band to back him up on his West Coast Tour. Music has always been his main source of revenue (?), but it's been a varied career: working in a record store, he was at KSCO when the 1989 Earthquake hit, then 10 years at KUSP, a music writer at the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper, edtor for online content, a freelance journalist; worked at a luthier shop as a guitar builder; & books musical acts at Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay. How'd he get to be a Grateful Dead cover band journeyman? He was the bass player for Gary Gates, and after a friend bought Henfling's Tavern in the San Lorenzo Valley he asked her if Gary Gates could play there. She said yes, but Gary said no. Scott threw together some musician friends and played Grateful Dead covers, and has been a Grateful Dead cover band journeyman ever since - for the last 19 years!! "Rosebud" was the name of Jerry's last guitar. For Grateful Dead tribute bands, as Matt Hardle says, "There's only one band, and everyone's in it - but the line-up changes every night!" Scott's local Grateful Dead Cover Band, the China Cats, plays monthly at the Vet's Hall. What's the ratio of annual revenue of Grateful Dead Journeyman playing to all of his other gigs? "3:1". The "Money Question", "Are you able to make a living playing music, & if so, how?" "Yes. It's complicated. But it's playing a lot of gigs!" An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41850200

Tricia Webber_SC County Clerk & Registrar of Voters_2026-06-26 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) 06/27/2026

Tricia Webber_SC County Clerk & Registrar of Voters_2026-06-26 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) Tricia is both County Clerk & Registrar of Voters; she came to Santa Cruz in 1997, having followed a boy from college - she's from Santa Ynez, near Solvang (the Danish capital of the USA), & was at Fresno State, working for the Curry Company in Yosemite Valley, but when the park closed due to flooding, her boyfriend at the time suggested she move with him to Santa Cruz - he's now her husband. How did she get into County clerk job? Her mother-in-law had been helping with the elections department for a long time, and said, "Why don't you help with elections?" It was 1997, & she hired on to help with the 1998 election; she went to full timein 2006, first in Clerk Services, later with elections, and, in 2020, became Assistant County Clerk to now Assemblymember Gail Pellerin; Tricia's mom moved to Santa Cruz in the 1960s and was one of the first employees at Cabrillo College. The Registrar of Voters is the chief elections person in the county for local, state & federal elections - yesterday was the deadline for state ballot initiatives (& the "billionaire tax" initiative is still on the ballot). The County Clerk is the chief commissioner of marraiges, with the authority to conduct marriage ceremonies, deputize others to conduct them; plus handles notaries, passports, and fictitious business names. There are 14 employees in the office, including her, with 50 hired as extra help at election time, plus 300-350 volunteers (what we used to call poll workers). Mail-in ballots are required by law to be sent to everyone, and 90% vote this way, although people can vote in person 29 days before election day at 3 places, and progressively more places as the election gets closer. <1% of ballots are flagged as concerning, usually because someone's signature has changed - if something is different about it or it's missing, challenged & addressed; if not, then referrred to D.A. (District Attorney) to investigate - which has happened precisely once in 28 years!! Voter trust has not changed, as everything is open & transparent. Any change in vollunteers / extra help in 28 years? She's seeing more attrition that she used to (because people are more transient), but they need fewer volunteers now (300-350 vs. 1100-1200 previously). Starting in 2017/2018, "more days, more ways" to vote, which came to Santa Cruz County in 2020, fully adopted in 2022. In state constitutional offices "Top 2" go to run-off; non-partisan offices, with the exception of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, if any candidate gets 50% + 1 vote, they won; there are only a few ballots still to "cure" - not enough to change any outcomes; the Santa Cruz Mayor's race will go to a run-off; District 3 County Supervisor was unopposed, but District 4 has one candidate with 50.9% - they manually tallied all of the District 4 ballots to be sure, with 15 different audits! "Most suprising thing you've seen?" "Really good question!" - never truly understood elections, and in one of the first elections she worked, a Santa Cruz City Councilmember won by 4 votes! Every vote counts! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41850055

Richard Hoover (co-founder) & Brenda Martinez (sales director) - Santa Cruz Guitar Company_2026-06-19_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Richard is star struck, having listened to Bushwhacker's since way back when he used to get up really early to come in to work before musicians would wake up; he grew up in the San Joaquin Vally & moved to Santa Cruz when he was 14-15-16 taking a page out of Jack Kerouac; he needed to be close enough to an urban area, but didn't want to live in one, so he & his art director wife settled in Santa Cruz, starting Santa Cruz Guitar Company (SCGC) in 1976; Brenda came here in 2010 to attend U.C. Santa Cruz; the name Santa Cruz evokes unconditional love & spirit - the logo used a floral design, with the initials sylisticly (Richard cut 4,000 out by hand!); they've sold 20,000 guitars; the first guitar had a lot of innovations, as Richard came from a violin tradition, and was a response to the Dreadnought guitar everyone was playing at that time; wood? Richard was part of a 3 person partnership, & they operated by consensus; Richard loved mahogany, but they landed on Koa; they made the Tony Rice signature model thanks to an introduction by Darrel Anger; SCGC is known for innovation, but they are also sustainable & responsible; as a teen, Richard played guitar to impress girls (it worked), &, while waiting for a girl, he realized, "Somebody makes these!"; he took a guitar apart; his mom, a "rock star reference librarian" looked for books on how to build a guitar & couldn't find any on 6-string guitars, but there were lots of boooks on violins; violins are built for serious sound, & Richard brought this sensibility to guitars; what truly makes Richard happy is making others happy; all SCGC guitars are custom built - it takes 4-6 months to build a guitar, with teamwork amont the 17 builders; they build 400+ guitars a year; co-founders & partners are Will Davis & Bruce Ross; big names play a Santa Cruz Guitar (Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, David Crosby) but Richard shouts out to Jose Rojas, who has 400,000 followers, and inspires in the clean water & nutrition space, and prominently features his Santa Cruz Guitar. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711695

Gail Pellerin_28th District Assemblymember_2026-06-19_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 06/20/2026

Gail Pellerin_28th District Assemblymember_2026-06-19_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) The constitutional deadline to pass a budget out of the legislature was last Monday at midnight, & required a 3-part agreement to avoid delays (Assembly, Senate, Governor); 4 budget sub-committees but 64 hearings; health subcommittee dealing with crisis in California, which rejects cuts - HR1 impacts many, many people in District 28; SB125 passed with a MCO (Managed Care Organization) tax with revenue to offset MediCare / MediCal cuts; negotiations are ongoing over ballot measures & whether they can be voluntarily withdrawn via a letter to the Secretary of State - the deadline is June 25, next Thursday - the leaders of both houses & the governor negotiate with the main proponents of a measure (e.g.: SEIU - UHW behind "billionaire tax"), with elected officials using legislation that advances the proponent's goal(s) in order to convince them to volunteer to withdraw - even if they have raised enough signatures to place a measure on the ballot; this type of negotiation is more common than it used to be; Q: re: battery storage facility near Watsonville; need to make it safe, manage impact on water & infrastructure & minimize fire risk - but recognize that the state needs storage to meet "30 by 30" goal & advance clean energy; July 2 deadline to policy committees to meet and move a bill out either to the floor or, if it has $$ in it, the appropriations committee to again be placed in the Suspense File in the new house; deep dive into A.I. - Gail is on it! Might be in 3 committees - Gail is on Privacy & Consumer Affairs; many bills dealing with A.I. moving through legislative process, plus Select Committees & the "Tech Caucus"...the difficulty is that A.I. is advancing so quickly; Assembly Resolution passed honoring Santa Cruz Guitar Company, who are celebrating 50 years with an exhibit at the Museum of Art & History (the MAH). An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711645

Mary Gauthier - Singer - Songwriter_2026-06-12_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 06/20/2026

Mary Gauthier - Singer - Songwriter_2026-06-12_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) calling in from Seattle, where "we" played last night; "we" = she & Jaymee Harris, who opens & performs with her - Nashville is home; Mary had her on label, "On the Black", & people are buying vinyl now - sitting & listening to the record intentionally; streaming is useful when she's out walking, but there's no revenue: "the Tech Bros won!" when you Barbara Higbie (interviewed earlier) gets $23 for a million streams...but in those million, some of them are going to buy tickets & come to a Barbara Higbie show; pressing records? "Got to get on the schedule!", she wrote the title track to "Mercy Now" during the Bush years, when wars in Afghanistan & Iraq showed that we hadn't learned a damned thing from Vietnam - and now it's relevant again! (proving that we didn't learn from "The Princess Bride" to "Never get involved in a land war in Asia!") - songs usually come slowly to her, but this one came quickly when she was in a *very* small town in eastern Canada for the Stan Rogers Folk Festival; pivoting to Pride Month and her song, "Drag Queens & Limousines", that song came to her from something somebody said when they were in a diner in Times Square in New York City; the "Money Question" ("Have you been / are you able to make a living with your music, & if so, how?" A:"Oh, yeah!!", for 30 years or so...keep expenses low!...nobody on commission on gross, because no incentive for higher net..be a Troubadour, go town to town; "But not always! You stole your mom's car & drove to New Orleans, where you opened a restaurant!" "Yeah...2 of the hardest ways to make a living!" An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711530

Lis DuBois - E.D. of Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz Country_2026-06-12_interview KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) When did Lis (pronounced "Lee") DuBois (pronounced "do-BWAH") move to our area & what brought her here? ("Great question!"): she moved here in 2012/2013 when she & her husband were living in San Jose - Lis missed the ocean, haviing grown up in Orange County...after they moved here, her husband asked, "Why didn't we do this sooner?" - they now have 2 young kids who are Santa Cruz natives; Lis' background is in non-profits, and she was working at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (the MAH) when COVID hit, & she saw how the Boys & Girls Club came up with COVID-safe ways for kids to gather - she later hired on as Executive Director (ED); Q: "What does the Boys & Girls Club do?" A: provides a 3rd space for kids in addition to home & school - they are open every day after school, & all day during the summer; they are in week 2 of summer camp at the 3 Santa Cruz County Boys & Girls Club locations (Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Live Oak); founded in 1967 by the John & Ruth Mallery, opened in 1969; they serve 1500 young people a year, including providing healthy meals, DEAR (Drop Everything And Read!), & academic support; they were the 3rd highest non-profit in last year's Santa Cruz Gives ($76.4k!!) which showcases our community's generosity; annual budget = $2.4 - 2.5 MM, with only $15-40k coming from national (which also provides best practices) - all the fundraising is local, with ~$1.2 MM from foundations & individuals, $900k from the modest fees they charge for camps & activities, and $400k from the Mallery endowment; can kids join camp even if week 3 is coming up? they always say yes if there's space; Q: "How 'young' is young?" ("Great Question" ): A: 5 - 18, but majority are in elementary & middle school; Q: with the construction, where's the Santa Cruz location? ("Great Question" ); A: temporary location at a nearby school; their "Guitars not Guns" is an example program, where if kids sign up & stay for 8 lessons, they get a free guitar!! they have 60 employees, 1/3 full time, and 1/2 - 2/3 part time (including a lot of UCSC students because it's awesome & flexible); they see shy kids all the time - they might try coming with a buddy; although the national situation is uncertain financially for non-profits, they are relative stable - Santa Cruz is wealthy, but it's expensive to live here! they have started a food pantry in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank; Q: "How many volunteers are there?" ("Great Question" !!!); A: lots, bringing different skill sets, washing windows, parents helping out, businesses doing a service day; "after school" = as soon as the last bell rings! (2:30, except on early release days, when it's 12:30); the Boys & Girls Clubs are the "white filler in an oreo cookie", & they provide staff to get kids from most nearby schools to the Clubs, whether by walking bus or vans. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711480

Barbara Higbie_pianist, singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist_2026-06-12_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" 06/20/2026

Barbara Higbie_pianist, singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist_2026-06-12_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" Barbara & Teresa Trull met at the Reno Gay Rodeo, where Barbara was a fiddler in a band & Teresa a singer/songwriter; when they played at the Great America music hall in San Francisco (when Barbara sat in as Teresa's piano player), they got a standing ovation after their first song; they became a duo, and were the Indigo Girls before there were the Indigo Girls; Teresa was one of the first artists on Olivia Records, & their first lesbian artist, & big in the LGBTQ community, recording Out music when it wasn't common; Barbara hasn't identified as LGBTQ, but goes with the flow; Barbara came to California to attend Mills College; Teresa is a high level horse trainer, now based in New Zealand; "Why Wait" is an ode to forgiving & forgetting; the duo have put out a lot of albums; music today is like journalism, in that it's difficult to get compensated - her next door neighbor was the bass player in the Dead Kennedys: they use to get sizeable royalty checks, now, with a million streams, she might get a check for $23 (not enough to buy a pizza!); they perform on Olympia Records cruises; the "Money Question" ("Have you been / are you able to make a living with your music, & if so, how?" "Yes, and always have!!" - made enough money on royalties from Wyndham Hill records that she was able to buy a house in the Bay Area, plus lots of gigs, troubadour, also playing back up for billionaires; Barbara & Teresa's Greatest Hits CD will come out next Tuesday, the day before the gig, and is only available at gigs. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711400

John Laird_California State Senator_2026-06-05_interviewed on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) Last Tuesday's primary was the most unusual Gubernatorial election in California history, with many (most?) Democrat voters holding their ballots to the bitter end in case there was another Eric Swalwell; late votes are skewing Democrat, impacting a San Luis Obispo Supervisor race & a Sacramento-area state Senate race; the question is whether Steyer has enough runway to catch up to Bacerra; with 60 (!!!!) candidates in the primary, all you needed was a filing fee & a relatively small number of signatures; the "Top 2" advancing had unintended consequences - it was designed to get elected officials closer to the political middle, but resulted in some political moderates not making it to the top 2; if 2 Democrats make it, it would be tough for a progressive to be elected; Q: When will the late votes be counted? A: people are watching the # of remaining votes, so that the election will be called when those could no longer change the outcome; San Juan Bautista Board of Supervisors polarized, with 3-2: 2 Dems elected, with the recall going from 38 behinc to 5 in support to 28 in support as late ballots are counted; watch to see if Ryan Coonerty stays above 50% in Santa Cruz City Mayoral election, & whether Nunez can climb above 50% (now 49.88%) over Hernandez (now 33 %) in the south county County Supervisor's race; Laird worked hard to secure state bridge funding for the Watsonville Community Hospital (although it's still a bit of a "Perils of Pauline" situation, with needing rescue after rescue from constant problems); State Budget in progress, with Constitutional requirement for a budget to pass out of the legislature by June 15: Laird currently negotiating with the Assembly (& will continue doing so over Zoom on drive today to San Luis Obispo); riffing on pride monthy & Laird quoting Barney Frank in our April interview ("You have a right to privacy, but not to hypocrysy"), Barney Frank passed away a few weeks ago: when re-districting took out openly gay neighboring Representative Elaine Nobel, she deferred to him; Frank openly addressed a gathering of gay elected officials but did not publicly come out until a few years later (1987); Laird felt that he was openly gay when he was first elected to the Santa Cruz City Council in 1981, but it made a big splash when he was elected as mayor in 1983; "Today we're seeing pushback like never before." An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41554425

Tom Lehrer tribute_Ron 'Snoozy' Sandidge & Richard Stockton (promoters)_2024-11-22 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club by "Dangerous Dan" Orange 05/31/2026

Tom Lehrer tribute_Ron 'Snoozy' Sandidge & Richard Stockton (promoters)_2024-11-22 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club by "Dangerous Dan" Orange Snazzy does a tribute every year, and this year's, in honor of Tom Lehrer, is a benefit for music in the schools of Santa Cruz County; Lehrer was a Harvard grad student, contributor to "That Was The Week That Was" (TW3) who later put out an album of songs he created for TS3; when "The Foremen" opened for the Austin Lounge Lizards in Santa Cruz Tom Lehrer and family came to the show; deep dive into UCSC math department in the early years, and how UCSC would follwo a European-Style learning model of mixing disciplines, and how Lehrer fir that model. The YouTube video of complete Snazzy Tom Lehrer Tribute can be found at An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2024 is Bushwhacker's 35th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! From (Nov. 26, 2022): "I, Tom Lehrer, individually and as trustee of the Tom Lehrer Trust 2007, hereby grant the following permissions: All copyrights to lyrics or music written or composed by me have been permanently and irrevocably relinquished, and therefore such songs are now in the public domain. All of my songs that have never been copyrighted, having been available for free for so long, are now also in the public domain. In other words, I have abandoned, surrendered and disclaimed all right, title and interest in and to my work and have injected any and all copyrights into the public domain. The permission granted includes all lyrics which I have written to music by others, although the music to such parodies, if copyrighted by their composers, are of course not included without permission of their copyright owners. The translated songs on this website may be found on YouTube in their original languages. Performing and recording rights to all of my songs are included in this permission. Translation rights are also included. In particular, permission is hereby granted to anyone to set any of these lyrics to their own music, or to set any of this music to their own lyrics, and to publish or perform their parodies or distortions of these songs without payment or fear of legal action. Some recording, movie, and television rights to songs written by me are merely licensed non-exclusively by me to recording, movie, or TV companies. All such rights are now released herewith and therefore do not require any permission from me or from Maelstrom Music, which is merely me in another hat, nor from the recording, movie, or TV companies involved. In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money." /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41485735

(Michael) Schoolcraft & (Mike) Murray_singers, songwriters, satirists 2024-07-26 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' 05/31/2026

Poi Rogers (Carolyn Sills & Gerard Egan) - Singers-Songwriters_2024-08-02_interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by 'Dangerous Dan' Orange 05/31/2026

Laurie Jennings_part of Singer, Songwriter duo Jennings & Keller_2026-05-15 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by 'Dangerous Dan' Orange, 'DJ Spark Plug' (Dylan Estevez) & 'Maury-the-Mentee' (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) 05/31/2026

Gail Pellerin, California 28th District Assemblymember - 2026-05-15 interview on on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by 'Dangerous Dan' Orange, 'DJ Spark Plug' (Dylan Estevez) & 'Maury-the-Mentee' (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) Yesterday was a hard day, with both "Suspense File Day" & the Governor's "May Revise"; andy bill that makes it out of a policy committee that has a cost "of significance" goes into the "Suspense File" - "of significance" =is = or > $50,000; there were 637 bills in the Assembly's "suspense file": 137 are in suspense, and 468 passed; it'sa quick vote process, with bills in the "A Roll Call" already agreed to by Republicans & Democrats, "B Roll Call" agreed to by the Majority Party (in this case, Democrats), "Held in Committee' = still in suspense, & effectively dead; and a few in "limbo" = oh hold because of ongoing budget negotiations; pivoting to the budget, & yesterday's Governor's "May Revise": the Governor submits a "draft budget" in January, with the legislature then going through it line-by-lin, and possibly taking some early action, then, after the April 15 tax deadline leads to clarity on state revenue, the Governor issues his "May revise" - the legislature is required by state constitution to pass a balanced budget by June 15; the Assembly & the Senatte have until May 29 to pass a bill out of the "House of Origin" (where the bill was initally submitted) to the other house; discussion of Assemblymember Pellerin's bills that are still "Held in Suspense", where it's possible they can be passed out to the floor (aka "Jailbreak"), but most likely dead; California has a 6 week supply of gasoline, with prices going up; California's energy is overseen by a number of state agencies (e.g.: Calif. Energy Commission, the CARB; Calif. Dept. of Tax); back in the district - in Morgan Hill today, and Branciforte Libbrary tonigh to inspire youth to civic action (with free pizza!). This interview qualifies for an exemption from "Equal Time" because an appearance by a candidate on a Bona fide interview is an exemption of "use" as per FCC rules and policies, and an exempt "use" has no requirement for "equal time"* *FCC on “Exemptions from “Use” rules by a candidate, (See page 6 of 110 in the FCC Primer on Political Broadcasting. Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended; also FCC-78-523A1 [“New Primer on Political Broadcasting and Cablecasting”, FCC 78-523]) An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Maury-the-Mentee" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41484695

Brad Kava_Good Times, Growing Up in Santa Cruz_interviewed 2026-05-22_on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by 'Dangerous Dan' Orange, 'DJ Spark Plug' (Dylan Estevez) & 'Momento Maury' (Maury Burnett-Cavott) Brad arrived in Santa Cruz in 1978 after graduating college in New York & hitch hiking acros sthe country; worked at The Independent, which later became the Metro; & the Good Times (which was across form the Cooper House, & Brad was their 1st music reviewer); went to UC Berkeley School of Journalism, interned at the New York Times, then got a job in Florida as a police report [he broke the story about the sheriff running a prostitution ring], later Kansas City Star, the Gilroy Dispatch, and Santa Cruz Patch; Brad owns "Growing Up In Santa Cruz", a local monthly paper - it's a struggle, but it's beloved; his other 2 jobs are teaching at Cabrillo College, and editing the Good Times; plus he plays in "Jam & the Butterred Biscuits", a local band that plays all originals, and who are opening the mid-town summer music festival season; celebrating his 3rd anniversary at the Good Times after being hired on Memorial Day Weekend when the previous editor published an anonymous Anti-Drag Queen letter (in Santa Cruz?!!?!?), when the owner asked him if he'd fill in for "a couple of months"; this week's AI cover story generated hate mail even before it hit the news stand, with haters lashing out at a local restaurant "The Salty Otter", whose owner - a graphic designer - worked with AI to improve her logo (or so she thought) - artist supervised AI - the AI controversy is if it will replace artists, but AI *must* be supervised; Good Times has a circulation of [30,000, & gets more ad revenue from print than digital - people cherish hard copy; Karen Crocceti and AI assisting in giant mural planning; Good Times shifted to news during the pandemic - the owner owns 17 northern California papers & is working to keep a free (& independent!) press alive!! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41484520

Luigi Oppido - Pleasure Point Computers_interviewed 2026-05-22_on KZSC's Bushwhackers Breakfast Club by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Maury-the-Mentee" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) Luigi's family arrived in Santa Cruz in the 1930s (!!!), & his grandfather bought a house in 1937 (!!!)....for $12,000!!! (his grandfather packed meat, & sold ice); Luigi opened up his shop in 2011; "The Money Question" (are you able to make a living doing what you do?) "Yes!!! ...because I live in the house my grandfather bought! Otherwise, it'd be really tough." Luigi discovered when he wa a boyt that he could speak to computers, & understand them...he read a DOS manual, and later, when his dad's computer broke a 2nd time, he fixed it - at age 12!! Later, he would dumpster dive in the East Bay, and soon had a bedroom filled wiht desk top computers that he fixed; when the company he was working for after college took his anti-roll technology from car safety to missile control systems, he quit, and started his own computer repair shop; A.I. has added more work for him because it's often wrong; AI is a tool, and we are in the "spaghetti phase", where we throw it up against the wall to see what sticks'; Momento Maury & Gemini team to describe Luigi ("Pretty good!! Would I get the same thing if I asked?"); Right-to-Repair; Western Digital announced at the beginning of the year that...they had already sold all of the hard drives they would make this year! Data centers lead to price increases, shortages; the next 15 years? You will be more locked out of your data / files, and you won't have a laptop (everything will be in Data Centers, and all you'll have is a terminal ["The more things change, the more they stay the same!!" *]); Warner Herzog reading AI - "Where's Prunedale?!?!?!". * the famous French aphorism coined by journalist and novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849 ("plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose"). [ironically provided by AI Gemini] An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41484300

Adam Scow - 3rd Annual Mariachi Festival_interviewed 2026-04-24 on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Maury-the-Mentee" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) 04/24/2026

Ginger Shulick Porcella (ED) Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History_2026-04-24 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by 'Dangerous Dan' Orange, DJ Spark Plug (Dylan Estevez) & Maury-the-Mentee (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) The MAH is now in its 30th year, and recently celebrated with their Red Ball Gala, which raised over $130,000 for the MAH (although it was pouring, so they had to pivot & move 200 people indoors, where DJ Spooky from New York entertained them)! the MAH oversees 3 sites, the main museum in downtown Santa Cruz, the Evergreen Cemetary (in Harvey West Park), & the Davenport Jail, where a resident artist, Joshua Moreno, is doing a year-long study in light (you can visit the 2nd Saturday of every month); the origin story is that back in the 90s there was a history museum in town, & an art museum, but that funding became harder after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, so that funding was the impetus to merge...with successful crowd source funding (20 years before GoFundMe?) they succeeded!! the annual budget is $1.5 million, with 7 full time employees, and 7 part-time; Ginger spends 95% of her time fundraising from individual donors, grants, (no more federal funding), donor-advised funds, Community Foundation of Santa Cruz, the Hewlitt Foundation & the Packard Foundation; the main MAH museum has 3 floors & a combination of exhibits from the permanent collection as well as rotating exhibts, a sculpture garden, and galleries; there's a new installation of light that will be there a year - come some night to see it; "Who picks the exhibits?" "Great question!!" - the MAH is unique in that exhibits are co-created with community input; on the last Sunday of every month there's a poetry workshop at the Everygreen Cemetary 1-3pm; Ginger came to Santa Cruz year and a half ago, lured by the job. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug", "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & Maury-the-Mentee (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41011000

Jennifer Merchant (ED) & Kayla Traber (Dev't Dir) - Grey Bears_2026-04-24 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by 'Dangerous Dan' Orange, DJ Spark Plug (Dylan Estevez) & Maury-the-Mentee (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) Grey Bears recently secured a larger location, acquiring a warehouse (& 2.5 acres) that was previously owned by Palace Arts. which was sold to a Bay Area company (Triple A), but with the local store being managed by a son of the original owner; Grey Bears was built around seniors & healthy food, started in 1973 by UCSC student Kristina Maillard and her boyfriend, Gary Denny; they saw a need to nourish seniors, & food left to rot in local farm fields - they decided to gather their friends, gather the food, & host the first harvest festival; Grey Bears grew to have 3 pillars: 1) healthy food either picked up by, or delivered to, 4,000 seniors, 2) free food available to be picked out & taken from the Grey Bears on site market, and 3) free meals where seinors can gather & socialize with the Monday-Friday Grey Bears lunch; have any other towns in ag country imitated Grey Bears? "Great question!" - the answer is no, but with California law SB 1383 encouraging grocers & farms to share what would otherwise go to waste, maybe we'll see more Grey Bears like activities; their current capital campaign is 81% there, raising money to outfit the new warehouse & create a more dignified shopping experience; the budget is just under $4 million, with 34 employees (24 full time) & 836 volunteers - they have so many volunteers they have a weekly orientation! They still do recycling at their Chanticleer Ave. location, but the county took back the recycling centers at the landfill sites in December; the majority of their budget comes from thrift store sales, plus recycling (the "waste not, want not" mantra is baked into the Grey Bears DNA!); their website is GreyBears.org; Santa Cruz County has the fastest growing senior population in California! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug", "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & Maury-the-Mentee (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41010955

THE FUTURE IS PEACE: Interview with Palestinian and Israeli Peacemakers Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon | Transformation Highway, KZSC Santa Cruz 04/18/2026

Poi Rogers (Carolyn Sills) - Album Release shows for 'Whirligig'_interview 2026-04-10 on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' 04/11/2026

Poi Rogers (Carolyn Sills) - Album Release shows for 'Whirligig'_interview 2026-04-10 on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' Calling in from Capitola, but hittting the road in an hour to tour in support of new album, "Whirligig", a 6 song EP & 10" vinyl project coming out May 1st (officially), but advance copies available for purchase at shows - Santa Cruz show coming 2 weeks from tomorrow; songs on "Whirligig" include tunes about Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay, plus a song, "Gil Carter" about the longest home run ever hit in baseball (Carolyn is a big fan of baseball history) hit on August 11, 1959, in a farm league game in Carlsbad, New Mexico, where the home run knocked a peach out of a tree that someone witnessed, so they know the home run was either 650', or 733'!!! Bushwhackers mention Chuck Brodsky, who has at least 2 CDs with all baseball songs that are in rotation at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York; the new CD was recorded in Portald, Oregon by Eric Skye; "Telephone Tune" with references that our grandchildren might not get (land line telephone with rotary dial & a chord; letters in the mail); Carolyn, "Are you my mommy or are you A.I.?"'; the Money Question ("are you able to support yourself with your music, & if so, how?"): "Yes!! Wea re very fortunate to have a guitar repair shop in Soquel, The House of Twang, which they can shutter temporarily when they tour; "Dollars Medley" is a set of 3 songs inspired by the Clint Eastwood triology directed by Sergio Leone with Ennio Morricone's iconic scores - "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "For a Few Dollars More", & "A Fistful of Dollars" - that Gerard Egan (the other half of Poi Rogers) wrote into a whistle-infused song on their first album. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/40812655

Chris Berry & Laurie Egan_State of the San Lorenzo River 2026 Symposium & Tour_interview 2026-04-10 on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Started in 2015 with a grant to improve the scientific literacty of lay people about our watershed & its issues, inspired by former Santa Cruz city water director Rosemary Menard - & they've held the State of the San Lorenzo River Symposium almost every year since; our California State Senator John Laird will deliver the keynote; the Symposium is open to the public; Laurie is Executive Director of the Coastal Watershed Council, a local non-profit with a mission to preserve & protect watersheds - their budget is $600,000 - 700,000 per year, with 6 full time employees & 1 part-time...they get their funding from local & state as well as community support; deep dive into the agenda, with diversions to invasive species (esp. the shothole borer, which was first seen in Zayante Cree a year ago); "RCIS" = Regional Conservation Investment Strategy", which is used by the "RTC" = Regional Transportation Commission to guide investment & action in the watershed; "anadromous" = spawn in fresh water, & adult in ocean (e.g.: Steelhead, Coho Salmon), "HCP" = Habitat Conservation Plan = city permit to for handling water in the midst of endangered species, signed last year by the City Manager (after 25 years of work!); the San Lorenzo River habitat is the best it's been in 100 years, &, with regional planning, cities & communities are supporting each other better (but the challenge is that the Santa Cruz Mountains has the highest density of septic tanks west of the Mississippi!); the Symposium is a community conservation where, as Laurie put it, "It's amazing how many people are working on issues, & with a community conversation...about conservation!" An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/40812435

Cyanide Cyn - Sin Sisters 15th Anniversary Santa Cruz Burlesque & Drag Show_interview 2026-04-10 on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 04/11/2026

Redtail - Chris McDougal (guitar, vocals) & Richard Smith (mandolin, vocals) - Americana Singers/Songwriters_interview 2026-04-03 on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 04/07/2026

John Laird - California State Senator - 17th District - interviewed on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 04/07/2026

John Laird - California State Senator - 17th District - interviewed on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Currently on Spring Break and in the district; as one of the first openly gay elected officials to city & state office, what's his take on Governor Newsom's homophobic slurs of conservative influencers & politicos? Quoting Barney Frank, Senator Laird said, "You have a right to privacy, but no right to hypocrasy!" Is this to help tailor his image ahead of a run for national office, or to raise attention to his own issues? Yes to both. Watsonville hospital - there's interest by Sutter to take it over in a public-private partnership, but not until later in the year - still need a bridge...the governor's office is focusing on hospitals that have 2 days of cash on hand, not 7 or 8 days; Senator Laird saved the hospital ove4 4 years ago via a "Gut and Amend" bill that created a hospital district; unfortunately cuts & delays in federal funding (DSH; QAF) have reduced revenue so that it's no longer sustainable; Watsonville is one of 2 1/2 hospitals in County (Dominican, also Sutter Maternity); Cesar Chavez day name changed for this year only to Farmworkers Day in record time by unanamous vote via Gut and Amend legislative action, including the "72 hour rule"; re-read Miriam Pawel's biography of Cesar Chavez, specifically the "Monday Night Massacre" when Chavez fired many aides...include a young Bill Monning, future California State Senator & John Laird's immediate predecessor; what happens next week? "All hell breaks loose!" - there's 6 weeks to get bills out of the House of Origin, with committee meetings every day, plus 7 - 8 bills of his that are in other committees...PLUS budget hearing; working on a resolution against offshore Oil & Gas drilling, with Dan Haifley, ex Executive Director of Save Our Shores, and Santa Cruz City staff, spoke...."Dangerous Dan", as a geologist / geophysicist working both sides of the military - industrial complex, including offshore oil & gas and offshore wind, assures Senator Laird that he can sleep well at night knowing that the oil industry will never drill offshore California north of Santa Barbara, because the many faults (including the San Gregorio - Hosgri Fault that cuts across Monterey Bay) butcher the potential reservoirs so that an "elephant" (1 billion barrels recoverable) cannot exist; Senator Laird: "You're remarkably rational. This administration is not. Plus, we need to send a signal." An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/40766625

Chris Webster_Americana Singer, Songwriter_2023-07-14 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by 'Dangerous Dan' Orange & 'Kaos' (Katrina Clugston) 03/31/2026

Julie Macecevic - Executive Director, Walnut Avenue Family and Women's Center 2023-10-13 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "Kalamity Kyle" Weller, & "Kaos" (Katrina Clugston) 03/29/2026

Gail Pellerin, California 28th District Assemblymember - KZSC interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 03/29/2026

Brenda Avila-Handa - Watsonville Film Festival (WFF)_2026-03-20_interview on KZSC's Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club 03/29/2026

John Laird_California State Senator_2026-03-06_interview on KZSC's Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club 03/29/2026

John Laird_California State Senator_2026-03-06_interview on KZSC's Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club Senator Laird is the chair of the budget committee, with a lot going on, but first a look at his legislative package for this year's session; a lot more resolutions, but bills include helping out local wineries (who are sufferring) by letting them sell at Farmer's Markets...Pajaro Valley...Restore PG&E tax regarding Diablo Canyon...allow swimming in the lake that's at the headwaters of the Salinas River...and a new law prohibiting watering of artificial lawns (!!!! Yes, requires a law to give water districts the authority to prohibit this - a violation would be a misdemeanor with a fine!!!); discussion of arcane US Senate rules vs. California Senate; Watsonville Hospital in trouble AGAIN ??!?!? the root problem is that MediCal reimbursements are less than the cost of health care - they were on track to bin the black this year (or close), but the Federal government eliminated one reimbursement and delayed another, so now, with 8 to 10 days of cash on hand, they are trying to figure out how to save the hospital, starting with a bridge to next July; discussing "Private-Public Partnerships" with Sutter (Kaiser until recently) where the private entity would take on management and debt (1!1)...that works if the Watsonville Hospital fits with their regional perspective; deep dive into the Housing Element, where Senator Laird's constituents are all over this - Santa Cruz City is on track, but the County is not...specific projects & the "builder's remedy"...huge housing bond to the voters that would help out first time home buyers; as Budget Chair, Senator Laird is hellaciously busy after a day and a half budget retreat, followed by a 2 day policy retreat; the budget committee & 5 sub-committees have to go through every line item in the Governor's budget; there's a projection that California's revenue will be $6 Billion more than anticipated in December!!; Senator Laird authored a bill to help offset the Fed's $330 million cut to Planned Parenthood. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/40660015

Ronnie Trubeck - San Lorenzo Valley Historian, Realtor, & Collector of Ephemera_interviewed on KZSC by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 03/29/2026

Ronnie Trubeck - San Lorenzo Valley Historian, Realtor, & Collector of Ephemera_interviewed on KZSC by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Ronnie has been in area for 45 years, coming here out of high school because she loved the mountains...and buying a house for $122k (!!!); she is giving a series of 3 presentations on Ben Lomond history - next Thursday is talk , "Mountain Outpost to Thriving Town", which will cover ~1910 or 1915 to 1950; the 1st talk covered 1820 to 1887, the "Formation of Ben Lomond" - logging was part of it, but it was the railroad which allowed wealthy tourists to come to big hotels that were instrumental in the development of the town; Part 2 is all about resorts & vacation homes, with the big hotels declining as vehicles supplanted the railroad (after the railroad was removed in 1934), and mom & pop resorts of 10-15 cottages each taking their place; after the mill closed, leaving manhy workers cottages along the river, the town decided to re-develop, with the owners of the land with the workers cottages all agreeing to move the cottages to the other side of the river - on lots half their original size - to create a park!!! The talk series is a benefit for the Ben Lomond Alliance, who are raising money for sprinklers for Park Hall; the 3rd talk in the series will include the Korean & Vietnam wars & the Peace Movements, the Hippy Movement, and lots & lots of music; Ronnie's passion for history grew out of her love of maps, and Santa Cruz not haveing many older than the 1920s & 1930s road maps - Ronnie discovered post cards, which had their golden age before WWI, as the most beautiful cards were made in Germany - before 1907, post cards did not have a divided back with space for the address on half of it; reprise the "Great Migration" in 1911 when everyone agree to give up their lots for a half-sized lot on the other side...all for a community park, where the firemen built a dam to make a pool for everyone to enjoy! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/40659940

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