Hi there, folks. It’s Thursday, Sept. 25, and Santa Cruz County could see a few more showers and thunderstorms lingering through the morning, giving way to sunny skies and highs in the 70s and 80s.
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Thursday is the first day of classes at UC Santa Cruz, and Hillary Ojeda is taking the temperature on campus. She spoke with first-year students about why they chose UCSC and what they’re expecting in a new environment.
Christopher Neely reports on more turmoil for the Capitola City Council, which at its meeting this evening will consider a code-of-conduct complaint against Councilmember Melinda Orbach. A Capitola resident says Orbach misused her position when she accused him, by name, of harassment and threatening behavior at an April meeting; Orbach stands by her decision to defend herself.
The sudden shuttering this week of KION-TV’s local news operation also took down its Spanish-language arm, and Tania Ortiz caught up with Sandy Santos, who’d been a reporter, producer and anchor for Telemundo 23. “We don’t really know why. Why such a sudden decision?” Santos said the staff getting the news. “Everyone came to work just like any other day.”
In Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, local activist Kevin Norton and surgeon Dr. John Maa warn that e-bikes are far more dangerous than most realize — especially for children — and urge local protections such as education, helmets, age restrictions and speed limits before more lives are lost or upended.
Inside a packed Del Mar Theatre on Wednesday night, Lookout presented “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink,” a 2023 documentary by Rick Goldsmith that tracks the crumbling ecosystem of hyperlocal news outlets throughout the U.S. Goldsmith particularly focused on Wall Street hedge fund Alden Global Capital’s leading role in buying distressed newspapers and squeezing them dry.
After the film, Lookout founder Ken Doctor joined CalMatters CEO Neil Chase and Julie Reynolds, a Santa Cruz-based investigative journalist and co-founder of Voices of Monterey Bay, to discuss the prospects for local news amid economic and political pressures, and how outlets such as Lookout and CalMatters are working to find a sustainable model for the future.
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UC Santa Cruz first-years excited for a fresh start as new school year kicks off this week
Thursday marks the first day of classes for UC Santa Cruz students for the 2025-26 school year. UCSC officials previously told Lookout they expect overall undergraduate enrollment will be similar to the past two years, at around 17,600 to 17,790 students. Here’s what Hillary Ojeda heard from the newcomers.
Capitola councilmember Melinda Orbach faces code-of-conduct complaint as city’s political turbulence deepens
Capitola’s year of political turmoil deepens as the city council weighs a misconduct complaint Thursday against first-term lawmaker Melinda Orbach, raising questions about the city’s leadership stability. More here from Christopher Neely.
DAILY DIGEST
We’ve got more coming from Lookout as Thursday rounds into form, and plenty of ways you can keep up with it all. Download the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to take advantage of our award-winning local coverage, and get signed up here for breaking news alerts and our other newsletters – including Weekender, Wallace Baine’s recommendation-packed dispatch from the Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment scene, coming later. On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and/or Bluesky? Connect with Lookout there to spruce up your social media feed.
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Have an excellent Thursday, and thank you as always for reading.
Will McCahill