Good Morning! It’s Thursday, May 20 and it’s going to be sunny with a high of 63.
There’s a lot of change happening in the Santa Cruz environmental community with Land Trust chief Stephen Slade retiring this summer and the executive director of O’Neill Sea Odessy stepping down as she publicly accused the group of “racism, misogyny and privilege.” Now two more major figures in the environmental world have announced their retirement as well.
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Here is your news:
Changing of the environmental guard: Santa Cruz anti-plastics crusaders hand keys over to the next wave
Two fixtures of Santa Cruz County’s environmental scene are set to retire in the next few months: Tim Goncharoff, manager of Santa Cruz County’s Zero Waste programs, will end his tenure on July 16; Katherine O’Dea, executive director of Save Our Shores, will step down at the end of September. The departure of the two leaders represents a significant changing of the local environmental guard. Read more from our Mallory Pickett about their legacies here.
READ ALSO:
Q&A: Long-time Santa Cruz environmentalist, outgoing Land Trust chief talks conservation in county
The Breakfast Burrito Empire: Pleasure Point favorite makes its mark on Westside
Maybe because it’s roughly the shape — and, depending on where you get it, almost the size — of a surfboard, the breakfast burrito has become the go-to culinary symbol of surf culture. The Point Market on East Cliff Drive in the Pleasure Point area of Santa Cruz figured this out a long time ago. The Point is little more than your friendly neighborhood bodega, with two distinctions: One is its gonzo collection of ball caps, somewhere between 200 and 300 of them, hanging from the ceiling. The second is a strong commitment to the breakfast burrito. Read more from our Wallace Baine here.
Erasing COVID’s ravages: 3 takeaways from Scotts Valley’s budget for 2021-22
Recovering from the pandemic recession and disastrous 2020 wildfires is top of mind as the Scotts Valley City Council prepares to vote on a draft of its budget for the next fiscal year, which runs through June 2022. This year’s budget provides a crucial roadmap as the city exits the pandemic recession and looks to get back on stable footing over the next several years. Read the three main takeaways that will impact Scotts Valley residents from our Isabella Cueto here.
Seeking ‘community immunity’: Bay Area expected to be first region in California to reach herd immunity
Five months after COVID-19 vaccinations began, only two California counties are close to reaching “herd immunity” while most trail far behind with less than half of their eligible population vaccinated. In 45 of the state’s 58 counties, less than half were vaccinated. Some experts anticipate that the Bay Area will be the first region in the state to reach herd immunity, or as experts more commonly refer to it, “community immunity.” Of the 13 counties where at least half of eligible residents have been fully vaccinated, eight are in the Bay Area. Read more from CalMatters here.
Around the county…
San Jose man held to answer murder charges in Santa Cruz Mountains (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
2021 National Ag Day luncheon held at Fairgrounds (The Pajaronian)
Proposed Target Sails Through Scotts Valley Planning Commission (Good Times)
That’s it for today. If you’re enjoying our coverage, please tell your family and friends about our Lookout Newsletter & Text Center, where they can sign up for all the newsletters and alerts we offer. You can also keep tabs on everything we’re publishing through the day by bookmarking our website and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Have a great day!
Tulsi Kamath
Managing Editor