• WordPress Meetup: Wed, Jan 22, 6pm, Cruzio. Topic: Common WordPress mistakes and how to avoid them. 

• Startup Weekend Monterey Bay at CSUMB, Jan 24-26: a 54 hours event where enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups. Use promotional code "MEETUP" to get 25% off the registration of $99. 

• TechRaising Meetup: Thu, Jan 30, 6:30pm, NextSpace. Prepare for the spring TechRaising weekend.     

• Intro to The Startup Challenge: Tue, Jan 21, 4-6pm, Cruzio. Tue, Feb 11, 4-6pm, NextSpace. Applications due March 10. 

Features:  

•  "A brand truly is the user's beliefs about this product, service or community." County Supervisor, Zach Friend, asks: Can innovation be Santa Cruz's brand?   

• From the strawberry fields of Watsonville to the White House, "winning the LOFT award of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation is an experience I will carry with me forever," writes student Marcus Cisneros.  

• Local companies collaborate to help bolster ROP tech education in Santa Cruz County. "I suspect a half dozen new career programmers and Makers were born on that day," says Cruzio co-CEO Chris Neklason, referring to one particularly exciting day in class.