Good morning, Santa Cruz County. It is Monday, June 16, and morning fog, sun later and temperatures in the 70s are the familiar forecast.
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Lookout’s ongoing series on the future of downtown Santa Cruz continues, with Christopher Neely exploring why the current development boom is yielding almost exclusively rental housing – and not condominiums, historically a cheaper path to homeownership.
Tania Ortiz reports from Watsonville, where local businesses have seen a big drop-off in customers as the Trump administration steps up immigration raids. “People are not going out because they are scared,” says one downtown business owner.
Monday means Carmageddon from Max Chun, who leads this week’s report on local traffic and transit with how the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission is aiming to explain and discuss its $4.3 billion plan for passenger rail – including pop-ups at community events and one-on-one office hours.
A popular student film program in Pajaro Valley Unified School District is on the chopping block amid budget woes, Chimera Mohammadi reports. Both students and mentors say the Youth Cinema Project has had a transformative effect.
The Monday headlines also include coverage of and reaction to the weekend’s big “No Kings” rallies across the county, plus opinion pieces from Lookout’s Community Voices section. Let’s go.
Why Santa Cruz builds rentals, not condos — and what it means for first-time homebuyers
Santa Cruz is building more housing than ever — but almost none of it is for sale. Sky-high home prices and a state law meant to protect buyers are discouraging developers from building condos, closing off a key path to ownership. Christopher Neely reports.
Watsonville businesses struggle as ICE raids and protests intensify across the country
Watsonville businesses, flea markets and food drives say they have seen sharp decline as immigration raids intensify nationwide, forcing immigrant community members to avoid busy public places. Here’s what Tania Ortiz heard.
DAILY DIGEST
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Quite the busy Monday – and more is on the way from Lookout. Among what’s still to come is In the Public Interest, Christopher Neely’s weekly look inside Santa Cruz County politics & policy, just one of the many newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for here. Take our award-winning local coverage on the go by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and you social media mavens can find it all on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky.
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Thank you for reading – here’s to a smooth Monday all around.
Will McCahill