You made it through a harrowing 2025 and a half-decade of challenge. Now, put aside your fears of catastrophic climate change, the collapse of American democracy, and AI data centers stretching from sea to shining sea — for just a moment — and plan some fun in the year ahead.
Arts & Entertainment
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Photo gallery: Looking back on 2025 through photos
Lookout staff photographer Kevin Painchaud gets a front-row view of the events, people, and food that make Santa Cruz such a unique and special place to live. He chose his favorite photos he captured in 2025.
Posted inLatest News
Newsmakers 2025: Those we lost
Santa Cruz County lost a number of prominent people in 2025, including activists, journalists, artists and academics.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Weekender: Wallace’s into-retirement playlist and all the New Year’s Eve recommendations you could ask for
Recommendations for things to do around Santa Cruz County on New Year’s Eve and a final playlist from Wallace Baine highlight his last newsletter before heading off into retirement.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Best 9: Top New Year’s Eve events in Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment
Check out Wallace Baine’s Best 9 recommendations for things to do around Santa Cruz County on New Year’s Eve (literally and spiritually) via Lookout’s BOLO events calendar.
Posted inFood & Drink
Expanding Bad Animal will feature modern Parisian bistro-inspired menu as it reopens its restaurant in January
Bad Animal will reopen its restaurant in January with former Hanloh chef de cuisine Nick Hahn, ending its long-running residency model and shifting the menu from Thai food to a modern Parisian bistro style influenced by both California ingredients and Hahn’s Korean heritage.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A pelagic perspective on the day waves swept away the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf
The collapse of the end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, one year ago Tuesday, inspired artist Laurel Bushman to create a comic looking at the event from the point of view of a pair of sea lions.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Newsmakers 2025: Jackie Rogoff’s encounter with fleeting ‘Jeopardy!’ fame
Santa Cruz’s Jackie Rogoff embarked on a “Jeopardy!” journey, never expecting she might win. But she did.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
KAZU still experiencing on-air disruptions
KAZU (90.3FM) is still experiencing disruptions from a long-in-the-making move of its facilities to a new site owned by its parent institution, Cal State Monterey Bay. A spokesman said that the station is experiencing delays in the delivery of equipment to make the station fully functional.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Photo gallery: Flynn Creek Circus returns to Capitola with new show ‘The Bridge’
Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud goes under the big top in the Capitola Mall parking lot as Mendocino’s Flynn Creek Circus presents its latest show.