In her weekly roundup, Jessica M. Pasko examines the future of retail in rapidly redeveloping downtown Santa Cruz, news from California Giant Berry Farms and numbers and dates to know in local business.
Westside / Downtown
Posted inHousing & Development
Santa Cruz City Council shrinks Food Bin redevelopment before unanimous approval
On paper, developer Workbench received almost everything it applied for with unanimous support in Tuesday’s Santa Cruz City Council vote on the proposed redevelopment of The Food Bin site on Mission Street — the height, (most of) the units, limited parking. However, finer details tell a different story.
Posted inLatest News
Protesters blockade UCSC entrances as classes head back online through Thursday
Pro-Palestine protesters blocked both entrances to the UC Santa Cruz campus on Tuesday, continuing their monthslong push for UCSC to divest from weapons-manufacturing companies and cut ties with organizations associated with Israel. The university sent out a statement Tuesday evening, saying that instruction will be online through at least Thursday.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: One-way makes sense on West Cliff
In a letter to the editor, a pair of Santa Cruz residents agree with a previous resident’s Lookout opinion piece about making West Cliff Drive one-way.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
In the Public Interest: Housing harbinger: Is the community ready for more projects like Santa Cruz’s Food Bin redevelopment?
Santa Cruz County politics and policy in focus courtesy of Lookout correspondent Christopher Neely.
Posted inFood & Drink
Lily Belli on Food: Woodstock’s gets makeover, cocktail culture, Live Oak school farm and your go-to local food influencers
Tasty tidbits from around Santa Cruz County courtesy of Lookout correspondent Lily Belli.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
High school sports roundup: Spring sports wrap up and all-league teams
With high school sports winding down in Santa Cruz County, Thomas Frey recaps baseball teams in the Central Coast Section playoffs, local competitors in the state track & field championships and runs down all-league teams.
Posted inHousing & Development
With few options under California’s new housing reality, Santa Cruz neighbors, city council gird for vote on Food Bin project
Neighbors disagree with the project, and city councilmembers have criticized developer Workbench’s approach to the five-story, 59-unit redevelopment of the Food Bin. But neither is likely to stand in the way of the project in California’s new era of state-mandated housing development.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
How did we get to the homelessness problem of today and what is next?
Homelessness didn’t just happen. It came about through government choice and policy, writes Lookout politics columnist Mike Rotkin, a five-time Santa Cruz mayor. Here, Rotkin leads us through how unhoused policies shifted starting in the 1970s and offers his read on what we need now.
Posted inFood & Drink
Eaters Digest: Chilled tsukemen ramen at Full Steam Dumpling
Lily Belli heads to the Santa Cruz Art Center for chef Andy Huynh’s ramen.
