Before he was state Sen. John Laird, he was the County of Santa Cruz’s John Laird, and before that, he was Santa Cruz mayor, city councilmember and staffer John Laird. They were formative years for observing and responding to disasters. And they taught him perspective both on accepting nature’s random, inevitable penance and finding ways to make this uniquely disaster-prone county as ready as possible for the next lashing.
Coast Life
Posted inCoast Life
Riders on the storm: Santa Cruz surfers’ yin-yang relationship with historic megaswell events
There is much cleanup and rebuilding to be done after the storms battering Santa Cruz County, damage that hadn’t been seen for decades. There is also an epic sandbar building up off the San Lorenzo rivermouth. It’s a complex equation for those who live their best Santa Cruz lives tapping into the ocean’s energy and often risking their own personal safety for reasons few others could understand.
Posted inCoast Life
California taxes, regulations are killing small legal weed farms the state vowed to help
Small operators across California’s legal cannabis market say government taxes, fees and regulations are threatening their survival.
Posted inCoast Life
Farm-bred octopus: A benefit to the species or an act of cruelty?
A business in Hawaii is trying to close the life cycle of the octopus. Should it?
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Is the end near for local radio at Santa Cruz’s KSCO?
According to KSCO owner Michael Zwerling, local programming at the Santa Cruz AM radio station could be coming to an end. Zwerling has been trying for weeks to sell the station, and he says if he has no takers, he’ll convert the station to all syndicated programming on Jan. 1.
Posted inCoast Life
How a blind surfer got over his fear of wiping out (and you can too)
Pete Gustin proudly wears a “blind surfer” rash guard. His YouTube fans embrace his adventurous spirit, but he’s still sometimes hounded by haters in the water.
Posted inCoast Life
With $115 million in state funding secured, 7 miles of Coastal Rail Trail to break ground in 2025
A big $115 million grant from the California Transportation Commission’s Active Transportation Program covers the funding gap for nearly 7 miles of the Coastal Rail Trail across Santa Cruz County. Construction can begin as soon as 2025.
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.
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‘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.