Good day, one and all. It’s Thursday, Dec. 12 – a wet morning around Santa Cruz County after overnight rain, and chances of showers will linger through the day, with temps in the 50s.
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Max Chun leads us off with a move by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the monarch butterfly as “threatened” and mark nearly 300 acres of Santa Cruz County coastline as critical habitat – including Natural Bridges and Lighthouse Field state beaches.
From campus, Hillary Ojeda has reaction from UC Santa Cruz faculty members to the decision to shut down the feminist studies department after 50 years. The department is down to one full-time faculty member this academic year after having 12 full-time-equivalent faculty in 2017.
Wallace Baine – whose arts & entertainment-focused newsletter hits inboxes later Thursday – has a look at dueling productions of “The Nutcracker” coming to local stages next weekend. Both can trace their roots to Jean Dunphy, the godmother of classical dance in Santa Cruz.
And in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, Boulder Creek businessman Tom Decker gives his analysis of Donald Trump’s election victory and takes the media to task for failing to report what makes Trump so attractive to so many.
A packed slate of Thursday headlines also includes County Supervisor Justin Cummings being named chair of the power California Coastal Commission and vandalism deemed a “hate incident” at just-opened LGBTQ+-oriented downtown bar The Neighbor’s – read on.
Federal plan would protect 289 acres of Santa Cruz coast for monarch butterflies
Federal fish and wildlife officials have proposed protecting nearly 300 acres of Santa Cruz coastline as critical habitat for monarch butterflies as part of a push to have the butterfly’s Western population designated as a threatened species. Max Chun reports.
UCSC faculty mourn loss of feminist studies department
Members of UC Santa Cruz’s feminist studies faculty say they are disappointed to see the pioneering department closing after 50 years, but say they had little choice amid dwindling faculty numbers and heavy workloads. Here’s what Hillary Ojeda heard.
DAILY DIGEST
Another busy morning here at Lookout, and you know we’re not done. Still on a robust Thursday menu is Weekender, Wallace Baine’s aforementioned recommendation-packed pirouette through Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment – just one of the many Lookout newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for here. And for the social media-inclined, follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads to keep up with our award-winning local coverage.
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Take it easy on those wet roads, and may your Thursday be a good one.
Will McCahill