What’s up, Lookout friends? Wednesday, Dec. 3, is here, and the Santa Cruz County forecast is again mostly sunny skies and temperatures peaking in the low 60s, with a beach hazards statement in effect into Wednesday night and a coastal flood advisory through the week as king tides arrive.
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A Silicon Valley developer has proposed demolishing the historic downtown Santa Cruz building that currently houses The Catalyst nightclub, Jessica M. Pasko reports as part of her weekly look at local business. The pre-application envisions a new seven-story, mixed-use building, where the club could reopen.
Researchers estimate that nearly 55,000 pounds of heavy metals – chemicals highly toxic to animals, humans and aquatic life – have been dumped into the soil within a mile surrounding Elkhorn Slough following the fire earlier this year at a battery storage facility in Moss Landing, Tania Ortiz reports. It’s the first independent study since January’s massive blaze.
A Georgia police chief who’s been arrested on charges that he used his city’s automated license plate recognition cameras to stalk and harass private citizens searched Capitola’s Flock Safety camera data earlier this year, Max Chun reports, with countywide grassroots coalition Get The Flock Out uncovering the searches through public records requests.
In Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, retired software engineer Peter Gibson takes aim at the rail-and-trail “peace deal” proposed by Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and County Supervisor Manu Koenig. It’s built on shaky legal ground, Gibson writes, with federal freight rights — not local politicians — ultimately controlling the rail corridor.
A packed slate of Wednesday headlines also includes Jana Marcus’ review of Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “A Christmas Carol,” which despite high expectations delivered a “minimalist and emotionally thin” production, she writes. Onward.
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This week in Santa Cruz County business: Demolition, relocation eyed for Catalyst; Westside revitalization story; new wine district moves forward
A Silicon Valley developer has proposed demolishing the historic downtown Santa Cruz home of The Catalyst nightclub and erecting a new seven-story, mixed-use building, Jessica M. Pasko reports in her weekly survey of local business. She’s also got news from the Westside, on the local wine industry and more. Read it here.
Independent study reveals heavy metals near Elkhorn Slough after Moss Landing fire
A study from researchers at San Jose State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories estimates that nearly 55,000 pounds of heavy metals were dumped into soil near Elkhorn Slough following January’s Moss Landing battery fire. It’s the first independent study of the fire’s impacts published in a scientific journal. Details here from Tania Ortiz.
DAILY DIGEST
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Thanks for reading – now get out there and show Wednesday who’s boss.
Will McCahill