Good morning! It’s Monday, Feb. 9, and a mostly cloudy day is in store around Santa Cruz County, with highs in the 60s, before we enter a showery stretch Tuesday through Thursday.
I WANT TO … Become a Lookout member | Download the Lookout app | Browse latest news | Get other Lookout newsletters | Solve a puzzle | Find local events | Advertise
The fallout from a Watsonville teacher’s pro-ICE social media post has left the teacher on administrative leave and the MacQuiddy Elementary School community unsettled, Hillary Ojeda and Tania Ortiz report. Sarai Jimenez says the comment was taken out of context; one parent of two MacQuiddy students called the post “pure racism,” directed toward a community filled with immigrants.
Max Chun has the latest on local traffic and transit in his Carmageddon column, this week reporting that the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission officially terminated its contract with rail line operator Progressive Rail, and planners are moving quickly on designs for the Coastal Rail Trail between the San Lorenzo River and State Park Drive in Aptos.
Watsonville is working with an Alabama-based retail consultant to bring national retailers and restaurants to spur economic development in the city and provide local shopping options for residents, Tania Ortiz reports. “They’re matchmakers,” Watsonville’s city manager says. “They look at the community and determine what would be a good business that could thrive in that community.”
The Monday headlines also include Cassidy Beach’s report on the state of Santa Cruz County’s salmon population – away we go.
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Sign up here to receive Morning Lookout in your inbox every weekday.
Watsonville teacher placed on leave after making pro-ICE comment on social media
Lookout spoke with Sarai Jimenez, the teacher who in January posted a pro-ICE comment on social media, prompting a flurry of angry posts on Watsonville internet groups. Pajaro Valley Unified administrators declined to comment, but parents at the school where she taught until last month say they’re shocked and unsettled. Hillary Ojeda and Tania Ortiz have the story.
Carmageddon: As RTC officially votes to terminate contract with Progressive Rail, planners hope to have interim trail design by early summer
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission officially voted to terminate its contract with Progressive Rail at its Thursday meeting, which begins the process of taking over operations on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line. As that happens, planners are working on the new trail-over-rail design. Meanwhile, Highway 9 will have lower speed limits on some sections soon, and the Watsonville City Council will review recommendations to make Freedom Boulevard safer. Max Chun has details.
DAILY DIGEST
There’s more coming from Lookout, of course, as we wade into a new workweek, including an overview of what’s happening in Santa Cruz County politics and policy in the form of In the Public Interest. That’s just one of the many free newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for here; you can also take our award-winning local coverage along on your smartphone by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. And if social media is your thing, please come find Lookout on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
Our content isn’t possible without community support, so if you’re not already, please consider becoming a Lookout member.
Thanks for reading – hope your Monday is a smooth one.
Will McCahill