What’s good, Lookout friends? Thursday, Aug. 28, is here, and with it another nice day around Santa Cruz County, trending a little warmer as we head into the long weekend with highs in the mid-90s in the mountains, 70s by the bay.
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Lily Belli and Kevin Painchaud were on hand Wednesday afternoon for the long-awaited ribbon-cutting at the La Bahia Hotel & Spa, a luxurious addition to Santa Cruz’s beachfront. Its 155 rooms will open to guests Sept. 8, with two full-service restaurants and a lobby bar open to the public.
Hillary Ojeda has a pair of stories from UC Santa Cruz. The university has acquired a pair of properties, she reports, with 200 acres next to its main campus to be set aside for conservation and another 214 next to its coastal campus for farming. Meanwhile, undergraduate applications to UCSC fell for the first time in five years, a 7.3% drop that’s a marked contrast to a nationwide 5% uptick.
You’ll find a second helping from Lily Belli if you read on, as she goes inside new downtown Santa Cruz pop-up Death Box, a collaboration between a pair of veteran chefs that melds punk rock energy with wood-fired dishes spread among brunch, lunch and dinner at the former Alderwood location.
And in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, UCSC professor Ryan Coonerty, a former mayor and county supervisor, sounds the alarm bell about data showing that Santa Cruz High School had the second-lowest acceptance rate to UC Santa Cruz of any high school in the state and pushes the university to admit more local students.
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Ribbon cut at La Bahia: Santa Cruz’s most opulent hotel set to welcome guests Sept. 8
After more than 40 years of planning and three years of construction, the La Bahia Hotel & Spa is set to officially open Sept. 8 on the Santa Cruz waterfront, bringing 155 rooms, two restaurants, a spa, rooftop pool and luxury amenities. Lily Belli and Kevin Painchaud were on hand.
UCSC acquires 414 acres for conservation, farming in major land deal
UC Santa Cruz is expanding its footprint with the acquisition of two properties long held by a Santa Cruz family: 214 acres of protected natural land next to its main campus, and about 200 acres of oceanfront farmland near the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. Details here from Hillary Ojeda.
DAILY DIGEST
COMING SOON: With our partners at CalMatters, Lookout is hosting a screening of “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink,” a film that chronicles the damage caused by hedge fund ownership of once-proud community newspapers. The Sept. 24 event at the Del Mar Theatre in downtown Santa Cruz will be followed by a panel discussion and kicks off our fundraising efforts for Lookout’s fifth anniversary. Get your tickets and more info here.
Much closer on the horizon is Wallace Baine’s weekly shimmy through Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment, packed with recommendations for things to do all over – Weekender hits inboxes in just hours, and that’s only one of the Lookout newsletters and breaking news alerts you’d do well to sign up for here. Download the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to take our award-winning local coverage on the go, and mix us into your social media diet by following Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and now Bluesky.
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Have a great Thursday, and thank you for reading.
Will McCahill