Hello there, Santa Cruz County. Friday, April 3, is powering up, with the forecast calling for plentiful sunshine, breezes and temperatures in the 70s. Much the same, if slightly warmer, through the weekend.

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Lily Belli reports on Village Foods, a local meal delivery service that’s seen a meteoric rise since its launch last spring. It’s the brainchild of Kelly Langstaff, a former product marketing manager for tech companies with a lifelong passion for cooking, who was inspired to start a business that could provide busy community members – especially parents like herself – with nourishing meals. Next up: a storefront in Live Oak.

Santa Cruz Mountains residents were still jittery Thursday after the magnitude 4.6 earthquake centered near Boulder Creek, the region’s biggest since the early 1990s. “I was screaming, I was so scared,” one told Hillary Ojeda. “I’m a lifetime California resident. This is one of the most intense, scariest earthquakes I think I’ve ever experienced.” 

State Sen. John Laird is behind new legislation that would speed construction on the Pajaro River levee, Tania Ortiz reports. Laird, whose District 17 includes Santa Cruz County, is proposing to expand the contracting tools available to the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency, which would allow the agency to repair the river’s flood walls more efficiently.

The Friday headlines also include your roadmap to the weekend ahead – away we go.

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Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Village Foods meal delivery expands toward Live Oak storefront after rapid rise

A Santa Cruz mom launched Village Foods to help people solve the nightly dinner dilemma, and the meal delivery service has quickly taken off. Less than a year in, the business is expanding into its own Live Oak storefront as founder Kelly Langstaff builds on both a national trend and a deeply personal mission to support busy families like her own. Lily Belli has the story.

Credit: Courtesy of Allan Lundell

Santa Cruz Mountains residents screamed, sheltered and froze when 4.6 magnitude earthquake jolted them awake

A 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck near Boulder Creek early Thursday morning, jolting residents across Santa Cruz County awake and marking the region’s strongest temblor in more than three decades, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Despite widespread reports of shaking, noise and minor household damage, officials said there were no injuries or structural damage, as residents described fear and renewed urgency around earthquake preparedness. Here’s what they told Hillary Ojeda.

➤ Para leer el artículo en español, haga clic aquí.

Credit: Via Pixabay

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Have a great Friday, and here’s to a safe, relaxing weekend for us all.

Will McCahill

A veteran jack-of-all-trades journalist who is Lookout’s copy editor, writes and compiles Morning Lookout newsletter and produces Lookout’s other editorial newsletters and helps run Lookout’s social...