On Wednesday, Joby Aviation publicly unveiled the first aircraft to roll off its pilot production line. The Santa Cruz-based company also gave throngs of onlookers, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who gathered in Marina a chance to watch a prototype electric aircraft take flight and announced the appointment of Toyota North America’s CEO Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa to Joby’s board of directors.
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Santa Cruz Mountains communities brace for turmoil as home insurers leave California over wildfire risk
As insurance companies like State Farm pull out of writing new policies in California over concerns about the cost of wildfires, homeowners in high fire-risk areas, such as the San Lorenzo Valley, can expect to pay higher premiums as they pick from a much smaller pool of property insurers. An insurance program that offers limited fire insurance may become the only option for many in the Santa Cruz Mountains — one that experts warn could be far too expensive for some low-income families.
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Watsonville City Council adopts resolution supporting transition to organic farming
Watsonville city council members unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday night encouraging the transition to organic farming on agricultural fields within one mile of the city’s urban limit line. It also says the city will coordinate with local and private organizations to make that happen. While the city has no authority to force growers to make the transition, advocates for stricter rules surrounding pesticide use near school say the resolution “puts the city on the record” about their support for the shift to organic.
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Morning Lookout: Home insurance struggles, Watsonville votes on organic farming, and Lookout trivia night
Wayne Thompson has been fascinated with ancient animals since his family owned Scotts Valley’s now-closed Lost World…
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Morning Lookout: Slowing home sales, mastodon tooth’s clues & opinion on homelessness crisis
In April, a homeless woman knocked on Sheila Carrillo’s door on the Westside of Santa Cruz. She was stunned, but then…
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Q&A: Recently discovered mastodon tooth may hold ancient secrets about evolution of Santa Cruz County
Wayne Thompson has been fascinated with ancient animals since his family owned Scotts Valley’s now-closed Lost World attraction. He’s been on the trail of Ice Age mammals in Santa Cruz County since a juvenile mastodon skull turned up in Aptos Creek in 1980, and the May find of a tooth on a Rio Del Mar beach has the Museum of Natural History paleontologist excited anew.
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Morning Lookout: Santa Cruz’s growth mirage, bike-share rides again & BLM mural repainting
Nearly two years after Brandon Bochat and Hagan Warner vandalized the Black Lives Matter mural in front of Santa Cruz…
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Sunday Reads: Black Lives Matter mural repainting, local trivia boom and Junior Guards’ serious fun
No matter your budget, the ages and size of your crew and how you like your fun (active, chill, noisy, peaceful, with or…
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Morning Lookout: ‘Exhausting’ housing market, Felton summer adventures, UCSC’s RSV researcher
Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, raged last winter, contributing to a “tripledemic” where cases of flu, COVID-19 and…
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4 in 10 California residents are considering packing up and leaving, new poll finds
Californians are overwhelmingly enamored of the state and appreciate its diversity. Still, about 40% of residents are considering leaving, mostly because of the costs.