Peter Gelblum and Mani Rose Bobi Suthi visited us from Mountain Community Theater. They are performing Steel Magnolias through April 13. He is the director and she plays Truvy Jones, gossipy owner of a small town beauty shop.

Heidi Luckenbach does not just play brilliant director of a small town water department, she is one in real life. That town is Santa Cruz, and she joined us in the studio. It was timely, as our municipal wharf was closed just yesterday to allow repairs to a broken water main. She also let us know that even in a period of increasing population, we have been experiencing decreasing demand. That will not last forever though. She told of increasing storage by recharging the existing aquifers beneath us. It was a fasinating visit.

Lynn Robinson is the executive director of Valley Churches United Ministries. She told us her organization is going to miss out on nearly a million dollars due to federal money that will not flow to them. They have been providing supplemental food to area people for 43 years, ever since the flooding in 1982. They are going to have to scramble to come up with that money another way.

Jaime Smith talked eggs. At Foodsmith, their paleo dishes use extra egg whites and less yolk. The keto dishes are almost the reverse. Rosemary taught him a technique for keeping eggs fresh much longer than just putting the carton in the fridge.

Jess Torres of Rising Worldwide told her story of being a sex trafficking survivor. Rising Worldwide, the support organization, has an event coming up called Rising at the Rio.

Rachael was in the studio, telling of her recent trip to Los Angeles. She did not care for the traffic. It is a love/hate thing between her and L.A. She had nothing but love to profess for Davey. He is the 80-pound pot belly pig she used to visit as she walked through her neighborhood. He is at the Santa Cruz Animal Shelter now, waiting for someone to make him their own.

Gail Pelerin was with us. She has several bills underway. One regulates how renters can get their deposit back when they move out. Another addresses standby guardianship, which has to do with who will care for citizen children whose non-citizen parents are deported. There is a bill to consider whether judges should be appointed rather than elected, since so many voters skip that category.

Mark Mozena had even more topics for us than usual.

Michael Olson was here to talk agriculture. The annual spring ag luncheon just took place. At it the Al Smith Friend of Ag Award was presented to Mark Sambrailo. Also, Cabrillo College recently received an endowment for their culinary program.

Dr. Pete suggests we get rid of foxtails now, while they are still green and not a threat to our pets. He bragged a bit about his alma mater, UC Davis school of Veterinary Medicine. They are number one in the nation this year, and have been five of the last 11 years. Many raw pet foods have been recalled due to bird flu contamination. It can make dogs sick and it can be fatal to cats. Brucellosis is a disease hunters need to consider. We also heard about Monday morning sickness in working horses.

Charlie reminded us that the recent rains followed by sunshine lead to weeds. We heard all about getting down on the ground to pull them, implements to let us take care of them while standing, and even chemical treatments for them, like white vinegar.

Rosemary had three movies she called her picks of the week. That is a new record.

Comedienne Karen Babbit joined us in the studio.

Jaime Smith told us all we wanted to know about nuts. As to which are the healthiest, they area all pretty good, with lots of healthy fat, fiber and protein. Lots of fat means lots of calories, so we should not overdo. Goober peas are not nuts.

Gary Shapiro was on to talk about books, but ended up discussing artists, mostly in the movie-making industry, who were or are despicable people.

Jeff Manke answered Rosemary's questions about spoonbills.

We had been wondering throughout the show about an old business in Santa Cruz named Fmali Herb. Listener Garth, a former employee of Fmali Herb, was good enough to e-mail us some inside information.

Rachel Shelton was in the studio talking animals, as well as battery and assault. She somehow managed to combine the two topics. Cat Trees also figured in the conversation.

State Senator John Laird was also with us in the third hour. He discussed the Moss Landing fire, safety testing of the waters afterword, the importance of communicating with the public, legislation to avoid future fires, and more.

Jack barked.

Dawn Addis was with us. The bill she authored, AB 303, addressing safety issues around Battery Energy Storage Systems is making its way through the legislative process. We also heard about the value of the Capitola wharf to the people in the area. With 200 miles of coastline in her district, she has several wharves. She taught us the word "chowsky." That is a combination of a chow and a husky.

As always, Mark Mozena had plenty about which to talk.

Michael Olson let us know the annual spring luncheon for the ag community is coming up. Among other things, they will announce the farmer of the year. He told of federal programs currently on hold, like the one funded by the USDA that connects local farmers to people in need of good food. Its future is uncertain. The ag community is also exploring legislation that would ensure we have foreign laborers to work in ag, similar to the bracero program of the past.

In the good news we heard about a man who had his two Bolonka dogs dognapped, then recovered. We then heard a story of seven-year-old English boy who offered to clean headstones and had an overwhelming response. Finally, we heard about a real-life local hero. She is a sherrif detective who worked for the last two years on the case of the many robberies of local marijuan dispensaries. Her efforts lead to the arrest of 22 suspects. Way to go!

Dr. Pete was with us, telling us what moon eyes in horses are, and discussing the recent time change and it's effect on pets, full moons, eclipses, blood moons and even worm moons.

Charlie's topic today was azaleas. Listen to learn all you need to know to raise them yourself.