Hello there, Lookout friends. Tuesday, Aug. 11, is here, bringing with it some chances of morning drizzle around Santa Cruz County before we gradually see sunnier skies and temperatures as high as the upper 80s in warmer mountain spots. A coastal flood advisory remains in effect at our beaches.
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Five berry growers in Watsonville will test out an alternative soil fumigant in their fields as part of a three-month pilot program led by Santa Cruz County’s agricultural commission, Tania Ortiz reports. The pilot program plans to explore an alternative non-chemical soil fumigation by injecting steam at a high temperature to reduce soil-borne pests, weed seeds and plant pathogens, such as fungi and bacteria.
In Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, UC Santa Cruz student Carly Pavlin writes about what she sees as the character of downtown disappearing. “When I first walked down Pacific Avenue four years ago, I felt like the city’s soul matched my own: a little messy, deeply curious, and unafraid to be different,” she writes. “But in the four years I’ve lived in Santa Cruz, I’ve noticed a shift on Pacific Avenue: community-centered spaces are scarcer, and many are being replaced by fast-fashion retail chains.”
We’re also keeping tabs on the Timber fire burning south of us in Big Sur, which at the most recent report Monday night had spread to more than 1,700 acres and was just 5% contained.
To the headlines …
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Can steam replace chemical fumigants? Watsonville berry growers will put it to the test
The Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commission is testing out a high-temperature steam alternative to chemical fumigants on five berry fields in Watsonville beginning in September as part of a three-month pilot program. Read more here from Tania Ortiz.
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OPINION: Santa Cruz’s Pacific Avenue is starting to look like Everywhere Else
Pacific Avenue once embodied Santa Cruz’s quirky, community-driven spirit, writes UC Santa Cruz student and aspiring writer Carly Pavlin. As chain retailers, including Anthropologie, replace longtime local institutions, she fears that identity is beginning to fade. In a Community Voices op-ed, Pavlin reflects on the downtown she fell in love with four years ago — and asks what kind of city Santa Cruz is becoming. Is Pacific Avenue still Santa Cruz, or is it starting to look like everywhere else? Read her op-ed here.
DAILY DIGEST
What’s still on the Lookout menu this Tuesday? I’m glad you asked – while I can’t give too much away, I do know that we’ll have a dispatch from Santa Cruz County’s culinary frontiers in the form of Lily Belli on Food. That’s on its way to an inbox near you a little later, one of the many free newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for here. Get breaking news notifications, games and of course all of our award-winning local coverage by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Stay current via social media by following Lookout on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and/or Threads.
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Have a super Tuesday, and thank you for reading.
Will McCahill