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Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Murray Street Bridge to return to one-way, eastbound-only traffic starting Tuesday

By Lily Belli

One week after reopening the Murray Street Bridge to alternating one-lane, two-way traffic, the city will revert the road to eastbound-only starting Tuesday. City officials observed severe congestion and unsafe driving behavior created gridlock on nearby neighborhood streets.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Supervisors to consider barring feds from using county-owned properties for immigration enforcement

By Tania Ortiz

At its Tuesday meeting, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will discuss an ordinance that would prohibit federal immigration officials from using county-owned property for enforcement activities.

Credit: Cecilia Schutz / Lookout Santa Cruz

The ‘Pop Tarts’ sew a new kind of protest across Santa Cruz County

By Cecilia Schutz

A group of like-minded ladies in a quilting guild found new purpose for their sewing skills. Calling themselves the “Pop Tarts,” they pour their crafting into protesting the Trump administration on Santa Cruz County highway overpasses and at larger gatherings.

Credit: Natasha Leverett / Lookout Santa Cruz

As Murray Street Bridge traffic snarls Seabright, Engfer Pizza Works hands out slices to stuck drivers

By Lily Belli

After months of slumping sales during the Murray Street Bridge closure, Seabright businesses are adjusting to the bridge reopening last week to one-lane, alternating traffic, which quickly created long backups in the neighborhood. Engfer Pizza Works turned the gridlock into a marketing opportunity by handing out free pizza samples to drivers stuck in traffic.

Credit: Google Street View

Carmageddon: RTC accepts rural roads plan, seeks input on name for freight line operator

By Max Chun

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission accepted the Rural Highways Safety Plan to improve safety along the county’s more remote highways. The commission is also seeking input on a name for a proposed nonprofit subsidiary that would operate the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line.

Credit: Bruce Lyon

Even the fastest bird on Earth can’t outfly bird flu

By Cassidy Beach

Peregrine falcons — long celebrated as one of the greatest wildlife recovery stories in modern history — have seen rapid deaths across the greater San Francisco Bay Area since 2022. Long-term monitoring by the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group suggests bird flu could be the culprit.

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Best of Santa Cruz County events, March 9-12

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

Monday, Mar. 9

Tuesday, Mar. 10

Wednesday, Mar. 11

Thursday, Mar. 12

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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...