Good morning, everyone. It is Wednesday, April 3, and Santa Cruz County is in for a change in the weather pattern, with clouds starting to roll in ahead of rain chances and chillier temps Thursday and Friday.
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Max Chun starts us off with a look at what local homelessness and mental health service providers are expecting after the narrow passage of state ballot measure Prop 1. “A big change that we have to understand the impacts of a little bit more” is how one county exec describes it.
Wednesday means the latest in local business from Jessica M. Pasko, whose weekly roundup includes opportunities for pop-up vendors on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf and new downtown housing getting closer to leases.
Lookout wine expert Laurie Love is also in the mix, bringing a full report on the recent Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association Grand Tasting.
Before we get to the headlines, here’s a preview from Christopher Neely of a story coming later:
It looks as though the city of Santa Cruz will again be debating the merit of a 16-story building, though this time it has nothing to do with a downtown expansion or a Santa Cruz Warriors arena.
Local developer Workbench has submitted a pre-application for a 16-story mixed-use high-rise at 2020 North Pacific Ave., directly behind the downtown clock tower. The new project, which envisions 260 new housing units with ground-floor commercial space, would replace the old Santa Cruz County Bank building and the Rush Inn, an institution among Santa Cruz dive bars.
Workbench has also submitted a pre-application with the city for an alternative project that rises only eight stories, with 180 housing units.
Stay tuned for a deeper dive into this project later Wednesday.
Photo of the day
The Santa Cruz Warriors are moving on in the G League playoffs, advancing to the Western Conference semifinals after a 113-111 victory Tuesday over the Salt Lake City Stars at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Center Usman Garuba (above left) scored 18 points and pulled down a team-postseason-record 19 rebounds to lead the Sea Dubs, who also got 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists from guard Pat Spencer (above right). Fourth-seeded Santa Cruz hits the road for a Thursday meeting with the top-seeded Stockton Kings, with the winner facing either No. 3 Oklahoma City or No. 2 Sioux Falls in Sunday’s West final. – John P. Hefti
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Prop 1’s narrow victory brings uncertainty to Santa Cruz County homeless and mental health service providers
Now that Prop 1 has officially passed — barely — mental health and homeless service providers look forward to learning more of the proposition’s impacts as state direction eventually comes down to the counties. Santa Cruz County providers see plenty of both pros and cons, and brace for the funding implications on a host of county-provided services. Max Chun reports.
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Wharf seeks new pop-up vendors; downtown housing developments
The City of Santa Cruz is looking for vendors to run a small pop-up space near the entrance of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf this summer, Jessica M. Pasko writes in her latest business roundup. Plus, a major downtown Santa Cruz rental housing development begins accepting applications, while another developer proposes a 16-story tower. And plenty of business mixers are on the calendar this spring. Check it all out here.
DAILY DIGEST
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Have a good Wednesday, and I’ll catch you back there Thursday a.m.
Will McCahill