Quick Take:
Thomas Sage Pedersen dives in deep with Arts Council Santa Cruz County’s Executive Director, Jim Brown, and Deputy...
Good Morning! It’s Friday, April 16, and it will be partly sunny with a slightly warmer high of 66.
We’re waking up to two tragic stories at the national level, including another mass shooting, this one in Indianapolis, and bodycam footage being released in the police shooting of a 13-year-old boy in Chicago. More on both those stories below.
Locally, it’s back to the drawing board for Santa Cruz city officials after councilmembers chose to rescind the highly unpopular outdoor living ordinance earlier this week. So what’s next? Isabella Cueto has answers for you. Meanwhile, another hotly debated topic — UC Santa Cruz’s Student Housing West development — is facing new delays after a new court challenge.
In business news, another beloved mainstay in downtown Santa Cruz — the Saturn Cafe — has announced it’s closing its doors permanently.
Amid it all, we’re introducing Lookout Santa Cruz’s weekly news quiz. The five multiple-choice questions we’re rolling out for the first time today are deceptively simple but will test your knowledge of the goings-on in Santa Cruz County in the past week. Did you pay close enough attention to the news? Test your knowledge here.
Now, with your news:
What’s next for the Santa Cruz temporary outdoor living ordinance — and how is the community reacting?
Given the feedback from hundreds of city residents and a controversy that swirled for weeks, the replacement law for Santa Cruz’s now-suspended “temporary outdoor living ordinance” is likely to still place broad restrictions on where homeless people can camp citywide. So what will be different? Rather than leave areas with certain zoning designations (e.g. industrial or commercial) open to overnight camping, city officials would designate specific sites to host “safe sleeping” programs and managed encampments on city-owned land. Read more about what’s coming next for the controversial program from our Isabella Cueto here.
UCSC’s controversial Student Housing West plan headed to court … again
A massive, proposed UC Santa Cruz student housing project that had been tied up for years in court because it would infringe on part of the campus’ pristine East Meadow is suddenly facing another legal challenge. A coalition of UCSC alumni, faculty and community members known as the East Meadow Action Committee is again suing the UC Board of Regents, alleging the recent reapproval of the project violates environmental law. Read more about this new legal challenge here.
PAST COVERAGE: Regents — once again — approve UCSC’s controversial Student Housing West plan after years of delays
Lost in space: After more than 40 years, the Saturn Cafe announces its permanent closure
Another icon of counterculture Santa Cruz slipped into history this week when the Saturn Cafe announced that it would be closing its Laurel Street location for good. Our Wallace Baine has all the details here.
Another end of an era: Yamashita Market closing its doors this summer (The Pajaronian)
Idea of PV Arts’ new show is putting work of local artists on your walls
If there is some kind of hybrid creature between a traditional art gallery and the corner home-furnishings store, this spring the Pajaro Valley Arts Gallery in downtown Watsonville might be the thing. Now through May 23, the PVA Gallery is hosting “Take Aways: Art to Go 2021,” featuring the original art of 79 Santa Cruz County visual artists. There’s one key difference between this gallery and a traditional one. Here, you can buy the art, take it off the wall and bring it home. Wallace walks you through the process here.
Teen arrested in Texas for January murder of apparently homeless man in Santa Cruz, police say
A 16-year-old boy was arrested near Houston on Thursday and faces charges in the murder of 37-year-old Daniel Hartley — an apparently homeless man from Pennsylvania — on Emeline Avenue in January, according to the Santa Cruz Police Department. The teen will be extradited to Santa Cruz from Texas, police say. Read more here.
‘People are dying as we wait’: Bid to tighten California nursing home oversight sputters
An effort to fix problems with the oversight of California’s nursing homes has stalled, sparking fears that the bill is doomed — and prompting elder care advocates to warn that even a delay jeopardizes residents’ safety. “I’m incredibly frustrated,” said Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi of Los Angeles, author of Assembly Bill 1502. “The pandemic has clearly exposed the horrible conditions of so many of our nursing homes. Read more from our partners at CalMatters here.
NEWS QUIZ: How closely did you pay attention to this week’s news in Santa Cruz County?
How well do you pay attention to the news? Do you read just the headlines and a couple of paragraphs before you call it quits — or do you get to the bottom of every article you read? We have a way to find out. Lookout Santa Cruz is starting a weekly news quiz so you can test your knowledge of the goings-on in Santa Cruz County. This week was packed with news and our team has crafted a tough challenge. Test your mettle here.
Vaccine Watch
How do I get vaccinated in Santa Cruz County? We’ve got a video for that (plus other resources, too)
Stanford begins testing Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on children as young as 2 (LA Times)
What’s different about Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine that might explain its blood clot risk? (LA Times)
Major national news…
At least 8 people killed in shooting at Indianapolis FedEx facility; suspect also dead (NBC News)
Bodycam video of fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo details final minutes of boy’s life (Chicago Sun-Times)
Around the county …
Mobile crisis center helps South County’s young people (The Pajaronian)
At least three cats shot in same Watsonville complex (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office searches for witnesses to crash on Highway 129 (KION-TV)
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.
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Have a great day!
Tulsi Kamath
Managing Editor