Greetings, readers. It’s Thursday, Dec. 28, and we’ll be dodging the raindrops around Santa Cruz County, with showers possible most of the day before heavier stuff returns Friday.
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The three-headed virus monster of COVID, flu and RSV isn’t hitting Santa Cruz County as hard as it did last winter, Max Chun reports, but with a new Omicron subvariant on the loose and less than 20% of county residents having gotten the latest booster, things could change.
Lily Belli is here with an update on where things stand in Santa Cruz’s efforts to make outdoor dining areas permanent in the city, with officials aiming to streamline the process for business owners heading into 2024.
Getting new local music out into the world is the mission for Heroic Dose Records, and Wallace Baine checks in with the founders of the new label.
In Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, former mayor Don Lane continues to spar with one of the proponents of Measure M, the ballot initiative on building heights and affordable housing coming before Santa Cruz voters in March.
The Thursday headlines also include what investigators are saying after a fire broke out early Tuesday at the Circle Church on Santa Cruz’s Westside. First, a look preparations for the big waves and high tides expected the next couple days:
Photo of the day
Capitola’s public works department used a tractor Wednesday to create large berms of sand to protect the waterfront restaurants of Capitola Village.
The National Weather Service has issued a high surf warning for the Santa Cruz County coastline due to forecasts of high tides pushing waves up to 25 to 30 feet further onshore. North and South County beaches are expected to be most affected, with the high tides peaking around 10 a.m. Thursday.
Residents and visitors should avoid going in the water and stay off of beaches, coastal jetties and bluffs. If you are walking near the ocean with a pet, keep them on a leash and away from the water.
Stronger winds and more rain will begin Friday morning and last until Saturday morning, with about an inch of rain expected.
Winter virus season proving less severe in Santa Cruz County, but ‘time will tell’
Although Santa Cruz County health care facilities aren’t seeing the same “tripledemic” that strained services last winter, COVID, flu and RSV are still making the rounds. Flu numbers are increasing quickly, while COVID has not hit the county particularly hard yet. Although the latest subvariant of interest, JN.1, shows the ability to be more infectious and better evade vaccines, county deputy health officer Cal Gordon said that vaccines still appear to provide good protection against serious illness. Details here from Max Chun.
Santa Cruz continuing efforts to make parklets, outdoor dining areas permanent
Streamlining the permitting process is among the goals for the City of Santa Cruz in 2024, as officials say they will keep working to create a permanent solution for outdoor dining areas on private property with temporary pandemic-era permits. Meanwhile, the city is already implementing its parklet program. Lily Belli has an update.
DAILY DIGEST
That’s all for now, but among what’s coming later from Lookout is Weekender, Wallace Baine’s roadmap to fun stuff ahead on the Santa Cruz County arts and entertainment calendar. Sign up here for that and all of our newsletter, plus breaking news alerts via email and text. You can also, of course, find Lookout on social media – connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads and you won’t miss a thing.
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Enjoy your day, friends and neighbors.
Will McCahill