The California cities of Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz are enmeshed in a legal dispute over the use of the label "Surf City USA" (story here). Both cities lay claim to the title, but Huntington Beach has actually secured exclusive trademark rights to the name from the USPTO. Santa Cruz, meanwhile, has just filed a lawsuit stating that these exclusive rights do not operate outside the Huntington Beach area.
This certainly adds an additional layer to the whole SoCal NoCal rivalry, but it's also a dispute that's near and dear to my heart. In addition to being a big Jan and Dean fan (or at least I was at one time), I lived the first five years of my life in Huntington Beach but have since developed a strong affinity for Santa Cruz, what with its fried candy bars and hippie ways.
In fact, I daresay that my fondest memories of Huntington Beach -- living across the street from oil wells somehow, the old man nextdoor with his little bow-wearing dog, the bakery down the street that gave me free cookies, my turtle-shaped sandbox, the unknowable mysteries of "around the corner," where I was forbidden to travel on my big wheel -- are being steadily overshadowed by fonder, more recent memories of Santa Cruz.
Here's hoping the case isn't in the court where I work (in which case I'll take down this post).
Bring it HB - we'll take you DOWN!