ccicerone
ccicerone's Latest Posts

Profile: Roy and P.J. Hirabayashi, San Jose Taiko
Roy Hirabayashi and his wife, P.J., helped found San Jose Taiko (SJT), a drumming ensemble and one of the earliest taiko groups in the United States. Under the leadership and artistic direction of the Hirabayashis, SJT recently celebrated its 35th anniversary.They have been keeping the beat in The Valley for 35 years. Update: Since we […]

Profile: Les Williams, Tuskegee Airman
Les Williams was one of World War II’s famed Tuskegee Airmen, a small group of African American combat pilots during World War II. In 2007, Williams and other Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service. He is a longtime resident of San Mateo.

Profile: Luis Valdez, Playwright
Luis Valdez is the founder of the El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista and is called the father of Chicano theater. His play Zoot Suit was the first Hispanic American play to reach Broadway. He followed the landmark show with the popular 1987 film La Bamba.

Profile: Annie Morhauser, Glass Artist
An artist and the founder of Annieglass, Annie Morhauser’s handcrafted glass pieces are on display in the Smithsonian and the White House, and are in many private collections including those of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Barbra Streisand. The Annieglass studio is located in Santa Cruz.

Place: Donnelly Chocolates
Becca visits World Famous Donnelly Chocolates in Santa Cruz, where Richard Donnelly shows us how he makes fine chocolate.

Profile: Class of ’54
Profile on Santa Cruz High School’s Class of 1954. These Class mates still meet up at lunch once a month and have for years. This is the story of friendship in a small town.

Profile: Jean Harman, W.A.S.P.
84-year-old Jean Harman first took to the skies as a seven-year-old child. Inspired by Amila Earhardt, she went on to get her pilot’s license at 18 and then later served as a WASP during World War II, ferrying North American AT-6’s.

Profile: Jill Tarter, Astronomer, SETI
Dr. Jill Cornell Tarter is an American astronomer and the current director of the Center for SETI Research. The mission of the SETI Institute (Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence) is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe. Tarter’s astronomical work is illustrated in Carl Sagan’s novel Contact.

Profile: Natalie Batalha, Planet Hunter
Natalie Batalha is a planet hunter. Batalha is a co-investigator for NASA’s Kepler mission, whose objective is to find earth-sized planets orbiting other stars in our galaxy.

Profile: Scott Weaver, Toothpick Artist
The man built the city of San Francisco…with TOOTHPICKS! A cute story about Scott Weaver and his amazing sculpture.