Hey hey hey. It’s Monday, March 9, and after a foggy start, it’ll be a mostly sunny start to the workweek around Santa Cruz County, with temperatures ranging from the upper 60s to the mid-70s.
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Lily Belli starts us off with the story of one local business seizing on the gridlock that the return of two-way traffic to the Murray Street Bridge has brought to Santa Cruz’s Seabright neighborhood. Engfer Pizza Works has been handing out free samples to stuck drivers, a tactic owner Liz Engfer has employed in the past.
Cecilia Schutz has the story of a group of locals turning their passion for quilting into protest art. “It’s an expression of who I am. It’s the deepest part of me,” says one member of the “Pop Tarts.” “I have creative impulses and I want to be an active participant in democracy, so it’s a blend of the two things that are important to me.”
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors could also be taking a stand against Trump administration policies this week, Tania Ortiz reports. At its meeting Tuesday, the board will discuss an ordinance that would prohibit federal immigration officials from using county-owned property for enforcement activities.
We’ve also got Max Chun’s Monday staple, Carmageddon, with the traffic-and-transit-focused column this week noting the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s move to improve safety on the county’s rural roads.
The Monday headlines also include Cassidy Beach’s story on peregrine falcons falling prey to bird flu and a respiratory virus detected in Santa Cruz – onward.
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As Murray Street Bridge traffic snarls Seabright, Engfer Pizza Works hands out slices to stuck drivers
After months of slumping sales during the Murray Street Bridge closure, Seabright businesses are adjusting to the bridge reopening last week to one-lane, alternating traffic, which quickly created long backups in the neighborhood. Engfer Pizza Works turned the gridlock into a marketing opportunity by handing out free pizza samples to drivers stuck in traffic. Here’s more from Lily Belli.
The ‘Pop Tarts’ sew a new kind of protest across Santa Cruz County
A group of like-minded ladies in a quilting guild found new purpose for their sewing skills. Calling themselves the “Pop Tarts,” they pour their crafting into protesting the Trump administration on Santa Cruz County highway overpasses and at larger gatherings. Cecilia Schutz has the story.
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Have a good Monday, and thanks for reading.
Will McCahill