Greetings, one and all. It is Wednesday, May 14 – marine layer dominates early, with sunnier skies as the day unfolds around Santa Cruz County, and temperatures ranging from the mid-60s to mid-70s.
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It was a busy night at Santa Cruz City Hall on Tuesday, and Christopher Neely has the news. After hours of debate and public comment, the city council approved plans to expand the neighborhood south of Laurel Street downtown, though with an 11th-hour compromise to cap building heights there at eight stories instead of 12. Earlier in the meeting, the Santa Cruz Warriors unveiled renderings of the new arena that would anchor the SoLa district.
The threat of legal action by Gabe Medina against the Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board he sits on is coming under criticism from some local leaders, Hillary Ojeda reports. “I’ve never seen any elected official attempt to make such a frivolous claim in an effort to put money in his own pocket, from his own school board or governmental body that he serves on,” one told her.
Tania Ortiz was on hand earlier this week as South County residents gathered to express their concerns over a battery storage facility proposed for outside Watsonville, and reports that, in the wake of January’s fire at a battery facility in Moss Landing, a group wants county supervisors to impose a moratorium on lithium battery storage systems.
County home sales hit a three-year April high, Max Chun reports. “I swear it’s a herd mentality – when they see something moving, they want to do it, too,” one agent said of both buyers and sellers making the jump into the market.
The downtown Santa Cruz farmers market’s move up Cedar Street has been delayed, Lily Belli reports, pushed back to June 4 as logistical issues remain. A celebration of the market’s long tenure at the site will proceed Wednesday afternoon as planned, however.
Kevin Painchaud and Wallace Baine follow up Wallace’s recent piece exploring the possibility of a “The Lost Boys”-themed bar or restaurant in Santa Cruz, asking locals for their opinions on such an establishment – and finding plenty of fans of the 1987 cult classic.
Lots of headlines this hump day, clearly – let’s have at it.
Santa Cruz City Council approves downtown expansion, but further limits building height to 85 feet
After nearly five years of community discussion and debate, the Santa Cruz City Council on Tuesday approved the city’s Downtown Plan Expansion, a vision that promises to reshape the built environment of a city facing the mounting pressures of growth. Christopher Neely was on hand.
➤MORE FROM TUESDAY’S MEETING: Warriors unveil concept drawings of new downtown Santa Cruz arena
➤ PRE-VOTE Q&A: “I’m interested in making Santa Cruz relevant again”: Mayor Fred Keeley discusses monumental downtown vote
➤ FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN: Read Lookout’s ongoing series
PVUSD trustee Gabe Medina’s $35K demand draws criticism from local leaders
Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee Gabe Medina’s demand for $35,000 to avoid a defamation lawsuit after a failed censure attempt is uniting critics and deepening divisions in a district already struggling with contentious issues. Hillary Ojeda reports.
DAILY DIGEST
Busy, busy, busy – and there’s more coming this mid-May Wednesday from Lookout. Take our award-winning local coverage on the go by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app (where you can opt into breaking news notifications) from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and sign up here for breaking news alerts and all of our other newsletters. Lookout is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky, so give us a follow as you navigate that social media scroll.
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Thank you for reading – see you next time.
Will McCahill