What’s good, Lookout friends? It’s Wednesday, Aug. 6 – another nice one around Santa Cruz County, heating up to lower 90s in the mountains, 70s on the beaches.
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Max Chun leads things off with the latest in our Ask Lookout series, digging into why water levels have looked so high in the San Lorenzo River this summer. It’s normal, he found, and a city culvert project completed last summer aims to keep things steady.
We’ve got a pair of stories from Tuesday’s meeting of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors: William S. Woodhams reports that supervisors voted to delist Watsonville’s Redman-Hirahara House from various historic registries, meaning that demolition is on the horizon; meanwhile, Christopher Neely has word that the county is shelving an ambitious blockchain wallet project after two years, citing complexity and low public adoption.
Gwyneth Holcomb talked to a UC Santa Cruz marine biologist about news this week that the bacteria behind a mass starfish die-off has been identified. Peter Raimondi, who has tracked the mysterious illness for more than a decade, says it’s “a giant leap forward” in understanding local ocean ecosystems.
Wednesday means business for Jessica M. Pasko, who has an update on the unionization push at downtown Santa Cruz’s Woodstock’s Pizza, news of a big acquisition for Jody Aviation and more in her weekly column.
The hump-day headlines also include some choice local food & drink morsels from Lily Belli – let’s dig in.
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Ask Lookout: The San Lorenzo River water level was high in July. Is that normal?
You might have noticed the waters in the San Lorenzo River getting fairly high this summer. It’s actually not unusual and happens virtually every year. The City of Santa Cruz installed a new system last year to keep water levels below 5 feet, though engineers are still adjusting how it works. More here from Max Chun.
➤ ASK LOOKOUT: You have questions, we have answers
Supervisors vote to delist Watsonville’s Redman-Hirahara House, clearing path for demolition
Santa Cruz County supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday to delist the Watsonville mansion from historic registers after years of deterioration, with plans to salvage materials. William S. Woodhams was on hand.
DAILY DIGEST
Lots going on, so I’ll let you get to reading. Download the Lookout Santa Cruz app – where you can opt into breaking news notifications – from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to bring our award-winning local coverage with you on your Wednesday journey. You can also get breaking news alerts via email, in addition to all of Lookout’s other newsletters – take your pick and sign up here. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky are where you can keep tabs via social media.
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Thank you for reading – be good out there.
Will McCahill