Lookout PM: Last-minute NYE plans and tar balls on the beach

Lily Belli on Food: Last-minute NYE plans, Other Brother Beer opens in Aptos, and new chef at Bad Animal

The latest in Santa Cruz County food & drink news, notes, recommendations and more from Lookout correspondent Lily Belli.

Winter storms bring tar balls to Manresa State Beach, officials say they’re natural

By Hillary Ojeda

Black tar balls dotted Manresa State Beach over the weekend, alarming at least one visitor and prompting a report to the state oil spill hotline, but wildlife officials say the […]

‘I can be a leader’: The barista who helped unionize Verve says the experience changed how she saw herself

By Lily Belli

Sasha Pavy, a shy 24-year-old UCSC graduate, emerged as an unlikely leader of a successful 2024 unionization drive at three Verve Coffee Roasters cafés, rallying coworkers around higher wages, consistent […]

More rain for New Year’s — also, did winds really clock 90 mph on Christmas Eve at the Harbor?

By Max Chun

Meteorologists weigh in on the extreme winds that whipped through the county last week. They can’t say if winds topping 90 miles per hour winds measured at the small craft […]

California should tax million-dollar, part-time homes to help first-gen students get to college

By Alondra Martinez

First-generation students lack the extra help with exams and college applications that rich kids’ families can buy. A new program and tax could change that, writes Alondra Martinez, a Stanford […]