Good morning, all. It is Tuesday, Feb. 18, and a mix of sun and clouds lies ahead for Santa Cruz County, with temperatures in the 60s.
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Christopher Neely starts us off from the North Coast, going behind the scenes as crews push to get Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument open to the public. It’s an effort years in the making, a unique opportunity to build 17 miles of trail from scratch – and hikers and bikers could be on the trails by summer.
Max Chun has his weekly Carmageddon feature on local traffic and transit, this week leading off with the latest on the upcoming $50 million retrofit of the Murray Street Bridge. Preparations are underway that could see construction start as soon as early March.
Max also reports on a screening last week of a documentary on efforts to combat homelessness. A panel discussion featuring the filmmakers, civic leaders and formerly unhoused residents followed the showing of “Beyond the Bridge.”
Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section has a pair of new pieces. Matt Farrell, board chair of Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail and Trail, takes issue with an earlier op-ed questioning the feasibility of passenger rail and gives his view of where things stand. Politics columnist Mike Rotkin, meanwhile, digs into the affordable housing tax measure Mayor Fred Keeley has proposed to put on the ballot in the city of Santa Cruz this November – a measure Rotkin supports.
The Tuesday headlines also include coverage of Monday’s “Not My President Day” protest in Santa Cruz – onward.
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Hidden no more: Crews push to debut Santa Cruz County’s first national monument trail network this summer
Tucked behind Davenport’s agricultural fields along Highway 1, the federal government has been working with locals to design and carve out 17 miles of hiking trails as part of Santa Cruz County’s own Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument. Work is expected to wrap up in the summer, more than eight years after President Barack Obama designated the land for preservation. Once finished, the network, which crews have built entirely from scratch, will give the broader public access to what promises to be one of the county’s, and country’s, natural gems. Christopher Neely goes behind the scenes.
➤ THE ROAD NOT YET OPENED: On the backbreaking work of trail-building from scratch
Carmageddon: City of Santa Cruz begins pre-construction work on Murray Street Bridge project
After years of planning, the Murray Street Bridge project is finally in its pre-construction stage as crews take the first steps toward fully breaking ground. The city is aiming for an early to mid-March start date, and hopes to finish up between fall 2027 and January 2028. More here from Max Chun on local traffic & transit.
DAILY DIGEST
A busy Tuesday as we get back up to speed after the long weekend. Among what’s still coming from Lookout are not one but two newsletters: In the Public Interest, Christopher Neely’s weekly dispatch from the public square of Santa Cruz County politics and policy, and our Tuesday culinary staple, Lily Belli on Food. Sign up here to get those delivered right to you, and check out our selection of other newsletters and breaking news alerts via email and text while you’re there. You can now download the new Lookout Santa Cruz app in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store to take us with you wherever you go; for social media types, follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads to keep up with our award-winning local coverage there.
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Have a super Tuesday!
Will McCahill