Good morning, Lookout friends. It is Monday, June 30, and that summery weather pattern continues, with Santa Cruz County seeing morning fog before warming into the upper 80s in the mountains and around 70 at our beaches under sunny skies.
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Monday brings the deadline for a pair of Mid-County mobile home parks to move property encroaching on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line, but as Christopher Neely reports, the properties have not budged. Up next could be legal action pitting park residents against the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, which owns the land the rail line sits on.
A class ring Soquel High School grad Jeremy Kennedy lost while surfing in Capitola in 1997 is back in his hands, Hillary Ojeda reports, after Santa Cruz nurse Lisa Crouch found it on an Aptos beach. “I’ve had a lot of hard things recently,” Kennedy said. “I think this is karma’s way of throwing me a bone.”
Max Chun’s weekly traffic & transit-focused Carmageddon is in the mix, this week noting that West Cliff Drive is once again open to two-way traffic even as the City of Santa Cruz eyes another project along the coastal roadway.
A new report finds the Watsonville Police Department is understaffed and recommends civilian employees handle minor issues, Tania Ortiz writes, freeing officers for more proactive community engagement and patrol duties.
The Monday headlines also include Wallace Baine’s look at where things stand with the county’s $4 billion passenger rail project – onward we go.
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RTC’s rail trail deadline arrives, but mobile home parks haven’t moved, likely spurring at least one lawsuit
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s June 30 deadline for removing encroachments on future trail land is here. While the owners and residents of one Live Oak mobile home park are discussing alternatives, those from the other park will likely face legal action. Details here from Christopher Neely.
After 28 years hidden on the beach, Soquel High class ring returns to owner, etched with memories and the ocean’s imprint
When Jeremy Kennedy lost his Soquel High class ring in the surf nearly 30 years ago, he gave up hope of seeing it again. Now, thanks to a nurse-turned-treasure hunter Lisa Crouch, the ocean has given Kennedy back not just a ring, but a reminder of his hometown roots, and the powerful currents of fate. Hillary Ojeda has the story.
DAILY DIGEST
More coming from Lookout this last day in June, including this week’s edition of In the Public Interest, Christopher Neely’s dispatch from the public square of Santa Cruz County politics & policy. That’s just one of the many newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for here; you can also keep up with our award-winning local coverage by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. And if you’re out there on social media, stay current by following Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky.
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Thanks for reading – enjoy your Monday.
Will McCahill