As the national fentanyl crisis continues to reverberate in Santa Cruz County at record rates, killing 42 people in 2021 and 39 officially so far in 2022, another record was set in September: 82 overdoses, spread out more around the county than usual. Public health officials noted the correlation and Lookout sought opinion from others about how the sweeping of a homeless encampment like the Benchlands in a county that lacks adequate addiction and mental health services can lead to “poor outcomes.”
Mark Conley
Follow Mark Conley on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Mark joins Lookout after 14 years at the Mercury News and Bay Area News Group, where he served as Deputy Sports Editor on a staff that covered three World Series, three Super Bowls, five NBA Finals, a Stanley Cup Final, six Olympic Games and three U.S. Opens over that span. He led enterprise coverage and special projects, and guided the Merc’s premium NFL and MLB magazines to five straight years of top APSE honors.Mark chaired a digital innovation committee and partook in the Table Stakes program that led to the newsroom’s establishment of a digital subscription team and a product development approach to coverage. He helped build brands around Pac-12 and high schools coverage via robust newsletters, social engagement, promotional deals and targeted audience content. Both coverage areas became top digital subscription drivers in the sports department — and the newsroom as a whole.Mark has lived in Santa Cruz County — Westside, Eastside, Midtown and now Capitola — for more than 20 years and has a passion for seeing journalism restored in the place he lives and loves.“This county is such a special place, and it’s as much about the people who choose to live here as the magical geography,” he says. “I’m looking forward to helping tell the stories of Santa Cruz County.”
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Lookout Update: Pesticide activists meet with Driscoll’s leaders, say organic transition details remain ‘unclear’
As South County continues to grapple with the reality of pesticide sprays next to schools and neighborhoods, a group of activists that includes doctors, educators and health advocates is attempting to push the world’s largest berry producer to convert its Watsonville fields to organic.
Posted inLookout PM Archive
Lookout PM: Pleasure Point compromise, Record ER visits, and academic workers focus on ‘long-haul strike,’
Though they’re “not gloating,” Save Pleasure Point made enough sensical noise to 1st District Santa Cruz County…
Posted inCoast Life
Pleasure Point sustains: Neighborhood group celebrates compromises made for Portola Drive’s future growth
Though they’re “not gloating,” Save Pleasure Point made enough sensical noise to 1st District Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manu Koenig, who helped make the group’s case to the planning department and other supervisors to limit development density on large parcels along the neighborhood’s main commercial artery.
Posted inCoast Life
‘Yeah, I’m pretty lucky’: Santa Cruz’s new public works director loves to play where he works
Nathan Nguyen is the City of Santa Cruz’s new public works director, taking over for the retired Mark Dettle, who held those reins for 21 years. When the new leader isn’t wrangling a complex stable of civic projects, you’ll probably find Nguyen out on one of his many favorite mountain bike trails.
Posted inCoast Life
With fentanyl ODs still surging, fear of increased drug use among Latino youth has county leaders concerned
A survey conducted among high school youth in Watsonville earlier this year suggests that a growing number of kids are experimenting with substances beyond alcohol and marijuana on a regular basis. Leaders hope a Spanish-language town hall Monday night will help illuminate the problem more broadly — and affirm to parents the danger fentanyl presents. The number of deaths the synthetic opioid has caused in Santa Cruz County in 2022 will set a new high, Lookout has learned.
Posted inCoast Life
‘These guys are legit’: Could the best Santa Cruz-centric surf film ever made be quietly in the works?
Ten years after Hollywood gave us “Chasing Mavericks,” based on an iconic young Santa Cruz surfer, Jay Moriarity, who overcame odds and died too soon, there is another Santa Cruz-based surf film percolating. Because of the star power involved in its conception by the acclaimed filmmakers of “Nomadland,” and the fact that filming could begin soon, the anticipation is palpable.
Posted inCoast Life
‘Firing’ waves grace Cold Water’s return: Six good reasons to train your eyes on Steamer Lane this week
The Cold Water Classic gets the reboot along West Cliff Drive on Tuesday after a seven-year respite. In the limelight will be one of the crown jewels of Santa Cruz’s rich surfing resources: Steamer Lane. Also: solid surf, local talent, a women’s division and hope for a sustainable CWC future. Oh, yeah, and a beer garden.
Posted inLatest News
Morning Lookout: Santa Cruz surfing’s aerial pioneer lives in a van on the Westside
Experience Glaum Egg Ranch’s egg-cellent vending machine and other local goodies at the barn store, Santa Cruz County…
Posted inCoast Life
Kevin Reed’s radical ride: Legendary anti-hero of Santa Cruz surf, skate scene getting his belated due
Born into a troubled home life, the Santa Cruz legend dubbed ‘Mr. Radical’ threw himself full speed into the natural playgrounds that surrounded him in the 1970s and 80s. His acumen and fearlessness gave him early notoriety, but he says that fame, fortune and accolades were never what he sought. Nonetheless, he was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame on Thursday night. He and his wife drove to the ceremony in the van they live in near Steamer Lane.