“The Loser” sits on a shelf inside a display case at Cutesy Cupcakes in Scotts Valley. This unusual cupcake — a sweet potato cake with dried prunes, frosted with a banana buttercream frosting — is a perfectly-cooked replica of the undercooked cupcake that cost owners Lacey Thompson and Jeanette Fitzgearl a chance at Cupcake Wars glory. The owners took their elimination from the Food Network show in a light-hearted manner and nicknamed the cake ‘The Loser’ because it cost them a chance to move to the second round of the competition.

Kathryn (Kate) Williams

Ferole LeTarte (Hartje)

With the world’s focus on a civil war in Syria, some local activists are making their pitch to sway public opinion against U.S. military involvement in Syria.

Pastor Chuckk Gerwig posited the question: “How do you create something for people who wouldn’t normally go to church?”