Hiya, folks. Friday, Nov. 21, is here, ushering in a sunny, dry stretch for Santa Cruz County that’ll see temperatures into the 60s through the weekend and low 70s possible next week.
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Local electeds and environmental leaders were quick to denounce plans to open the waters off California to oil drilling announced Thursday by the Trump administration, Tania Ortiz reports. Supervisor Justin Cummings tells her that Santa Cruz County has enlisted a number of fellow coastal counties in a coalition to fight the plans, with more in the offing.
The next owners of the Westside’s “five-star dive bar” are Santa Cruz locals, Lily Belli reports, with Krista and Peter Cook enlisting industry veterans Amy Di Chiro and Jamey Nelson to help them take the baton at Mission West from Max Turigliatto and Grant Staudt come 2026. “They’ve transformed it into a great place for locals to gather,” Krista Cook says of the outgoing owners, “and we want to continue the same.”
In the wake of Todd Snider’s death last week, Wallace Baine writes about the Americana singer-songwriter’s Santa Cruz connections. Snider was championed by local concert promoter Snazzy Productions and radio tastemaker Laura Ellen Hopper, with “Sleepy John” Sandidge and KPIG-FM getting shout-outs in one of Snider’s most popular songs.
The TGIF headlines also include Wallace’s recommendations for things to do all over the county this weekend and beyond – how about a look?
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Santa Cruz County officials mobilize resistance as Trump administration opens California coast to offshore oil drilling
The Trump administration confirmed Thursday that it plans to open the California coast to oil drilling, with two possible leases along the Central Coast. Local officials tell Lookout they’re organizing to fight offshore oil extraction with lawsuits. Tania Ortiz has the story.
Mission West to stay local as Westside couple, industry vets take the helm
Mission West, a beloved Westside Santa Cruz bar, is changing hands as longtime locals Peter and Krista Cook, along with industry veterans Amy Di Chiro and Jamey Nelson, take over from owners Max Turigliatto and Grant Staudt in January. The new team plans only modest updates while preserving the bar’s funky character and its tradition of local ownership and community connection. Lily Belli makes introductions.
DAILY DIGEST
What’s still cooking as we cruise toward the weekend? Glad you asked! Among what’s on the Friday menu is another bite of Santa Cruz County food & drink in the form of Lily Belli’s Eaters Digest, one of the many free newsletters and breaking news alerts I encourage you to sign up for here. Get all of our award-winning coverage, breaking news notifications, games and more on your smartphone by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and add our mix of local news and views to your social media feeds by following Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky.
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Thank you for reading – may your Friday be a good one, and here’s to a safe, relaxing weekend beyond.
Will McCahill