Lookout PM: Encompass stopping Head Start, first reactions to Koenig-Keeley proposal divided, Home’s new sister restaurant

Encompass Community Services to stop Head Start child care program after over 40 years

Santa Cruz County nonprofit Encompass Community Services announced Tuesday that it was stopping the Head Start and Early Head Start programs, but did not rule out resuming operations in the future. The organization has run Head Start locally since 1983. Continue reading…

Lily Belli on Food: Mesmerizing mushrooms, Home Away launches and holiday cookie decorating workshops

Santa Cruz Mushrooms in Live Oak, the new Home Away in Soquel and Mission West on Santa Cruz’s Westside are just some of the spots Lily Belli is stopping at in her Tuesday newsletter. Continue reading…

Initial reactions to Koenig-Keeley rail trail ‘peace deal’ are divided

Manu Koenig and Fred Keeley’s proposal to build Segments 8 through 11 of the Coastal Rail Trail over the tracks without railbanking was met with diverging reactions. One rail advocate would rather lose some of a state grant and build less of the trail but keep the design the same, while an outspoken 2022 Measure D supporter believes the community will back the proposal if it’s the fastest way to get a trail. Continue reading…

Entangled pelican rescued by high school surfer off Cowell Beach

A pelican trapped in fishing line was rescued after a woman spotted it off Santa Cruz’s Cowell Beach and two Santa Cruz High School surfers helped cut the bird free. Two other entangled birds died. Continue reading…

OPINION: Santa Cruz’s Measure C passed. The fight for accountability and the 2026 and 2028 elections is on

Measure C passed with just 54% support, leaving nearly half of Santa Cruz residents not wanting it. Some of those naysayers are concerned about loopholes, transparency and who will actually benefit from the new taxes, writes Keven Cook, an electrical engineer and veteran of political campaigns.

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How fear of Trump’s immigration blitz is changing life in California farm towns

Tax receipts are down almost 30% in one California farm town, where immigrants are afraid to go out and some longtime workers are weighing self-deportation during the second Trump administration.

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