Lookout food & drink correspondent Lily Belli highlights top events happening around Santa Cruz County in the coming week, plus more listings from Lookout’s BOLO events calendar.
Corralitos / Freedom
Best of Santa Cruz County food & drink events, May 10-16
Lookout food & drink correspondent Lily Belli highlights top events happening around Santa Cruz County in the coming week, plus more listings from Lookout’s BOLO events calendar.
Meme streak: Local satire ‘Karen With a K’ ready for bigger stages
Local musician and writer Laura February Strange is taking her satirical musical “Karen With a K” from its home turf at the Corralitos Cultural Center to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz.
Enrollment decline, budget worries add urgency to consolidation talk across Santa Cruz County’s 10 school districts
The backlash over Live Oak School District’s budget cuts has renewed questions among teachers, parents and even some trustees over whether Live Oak – and other school districts like it – should be folded into neighboring districts to save money. The idea also has its critics.
District 2 county supervisor: Brown, De Serpa headed to runoff
Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown and Pajaro Valley school district trustee Kim De Serpa are headed to a November runoff for the District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor seat.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District announces new superintendent
Heather Contreras, currently the assistant superintendent of school leadership for Modesto City Schools, will replace Michelle Rodriguez as superintendent of Pajaro Valley Unified School District. The district did not provide a start date for Contreras but said current interim superintendent Murry Schekman’s last day will be May 7.
The underwhelm of two-person primaries and other takeaways from Santa Cruz County’s election season
Election season, when Santa Cruz County decides which direction it wishes to take, poses many questions and provides many answers. The March 5 primary was no different.
Potholes, housing and a crumbling coast: District 2’s next supervisor will confront Santa Cruz County’s biggest issues
Santa Cruz County’s District 2 lays claim to manifold identities: Behind eroding bluffs and expensive beachfront properties sits the more suburban Aptos and its main corridor of Soquel Drive. Those who trek farther inland are greeted by rural tracts of apple orchards and berry farms. The district’s geographic and economic diversity has also placed it at the forefront of some of the county’s most pressing challenges. All this awaits a new county supervisor, with five candidates on the March ballot to replace Zach Friend.
Vote yes on N for a healthier, more equitable Pajaro Valley and support for Watsonville Community Hospital
Pajaro Valley community leaders explain the benefits of Measure N, which would increase property taxes modestly to raise $116 million for Watsonville Community Hospital.
Laurie Love on Wine: Locals hit it big at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
In her biweekly column, Lookout wine expert Laurie Love recaps a successful showing for Santa Cruz Mountains wines at a prestigious wine event up the Peninsula, notes big enrollment numbers for Cabrillo College’s wine programs and spotlights wine-centric events for Valentine’s Day and beyond.

