Welcome to Monday night’s Lookout PM.

I WANT TO … Become a Lookout Member | Download the Lookout App | Browse Latest News | Get other Lookout Newsletters | Solve a Puzzle | Find Local Events | Advertise

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Judge sets $100K bail for Pescavore founder Clarice Owens ahead of April stalking trial

By Lily Belli

A judge on Monday set $100,000 bail for Pescavore founder Clarice Owens, who has been held in jail since December on a felony stalking charge and dozens of misdemeanors tied to alleged harassment and restraining order violations.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

UCSC projecting a slightly higher deficit, still has $99 million in cuts coming

By Hillary Ojeda

Officials at UC Santa Cruz say the campus now projects an $81 million deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year, slightly higher than the previously estimated $79 million, driven by rising costs, higher-than-expected student aid spending and lower revenue from international students and federal funding.

Credit: Will McCahill / Lookout Santa Cruz

Carmageddon: County takes another step toward more improvements for Soquel Drive

By Max Chun

The next phase of work on Soquel Drive, from State Park Drive to Freedom Boulevard, is moving forward despite a funding gap of more than $5 million.

Credit: Davis Banta

Good Egg scores a hit with the comedy ‘Matt & Ben’

By Jana Marcus

Good Egg Productions makes a strong debut with “Matt & Ben,” the comedy by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers imagining how Matt Damon and Ben Affleck came to write “Good Will Hunting.” Packed with fast-paced humor and terrific performances from Sarah K. Michael and Sarah Mitchler, the show delivers a night of genuine laugh-out-loud comedy. It runs at Santa Cruz County Actors’ Theatre through Sunday.

Credit: Cassidy Beach / Lookout Santa Cruz

Salmon survival: Betting on the right fish

By Cassidy Beach

By studying salmon bones, scientists have uncovered that for thousands of years, Chinook salmon returned to California rivers at a range of ages. Today, habitat loss, overharvesting and conventional hatcheries have narrowed the age diversity of returning fish, a critical factor in efforts to save the species in Santa Cruz County and beyond. They are working with tribal partners to restore that diversity, protecting wild stocks and the rhythms that keep rivers alive.

Credit: Lynn Arditi / The Public’s Radio

Santa Cruz County groups to receive second round of opioid settlement payments

By Ashley Palma-Jimenez

Santa Cruz County nonprofit health organizations will receive $810,000 in opioid settlement funds in 2026 to help provide support for prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery related to opioid-related disorders.

Sign up for your Neighborhood Roundup. Sent every weekday morning, receive a neighborhood-specific roundup of the weather forecast, local news, crime reports, road closures, permit applications, road closures, restaurant inspections, upcoming events and more.

Best of Santa Cruz County events, March 16-19

Here are some events you may be interested in this week:

Monday, Mar. 16

Tuesday, Mar. 17

Wednesday, Mar. 18

Thursday, Mar. 19

Add an event to our calendar

Max Chun is the general-assignment correspondent at Lookout Santa Cruz. Max’s position has pulled him in many different directions, seeing him cover development, COVID, the opioid crisis, labor, courts...