Good morning. It’s Friday, Sept. 11 – a solemn day as Santa Cruz County and the U.S. mark 25 years since the 9/11 terror attacks. The heat that’s enveloped the area this week is waning, with the forecast calling for high temperatures mostly in the 70s and 80s.
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Amid that heat wave, Lookout journalists talked with workers around Santa Cruz County to see how they were coping. Security guards walked their beats, road crews poured concrete, farmers adjusted their harvest schedules around the hottest hours and business owners scrambled to keep food and beer cold when the heat knocked out their power.
Alia Yee Noll has a look at the newest public art in Capitola Village – a sea of brightly colored jellyfish, otters, seahorses and other marine wildlife native to Monterey Bay along 625 feet of railing leading down Monterey Avenue into the village.
Jana Marcus is along with her latest theater review, taking in Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s production of Noël Coward’s “Private Lives.” Charles Pasternak and Paige Lindsey White are marvelous as the spectacularly combustible couple who can’t seem to stay together or apart, she writes, bringing sparkling chemistry and impeccable comic timing to Laura Gordon’s stylish, laugh-out-loud production.
The Friday headlines also include your cheat sheet for going out and eating well around Santa Cruz County this weekend – let’s have a look.
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Santa Cruz County’s heat wave, one job at a time
As a heat wave gripped the region, Lookout journalists spoke with workers from Santa Cruz to Capitola to Watsonville about how they were getting through it, shift by shift. Max Chun, Alia Yee Noll, Kevin Painchaud, Tania Ortiz, Lily Belli and Hillary Ojeda have our coverage.
New Capitola Village public art brings Monterey Bay wildlife to Monterey Avenue railing
Capitola artist Bruce Harman has spent months painting 50 aluminum panels along a 625-foot stretch of railing on Monterey Avenue, turning it into a mural of jellyfish, otters, seahorses and other Monterey Bay sea life. The panels go on public display this weekend when the street closes to cars for the Capitola Art & Wine Festival. Read more from Alia Yee Noll.
DAILY DIGEST
A busy end to the workweek, to be sure, and with more coming from Lookout through the day and into the weekend, we’ve got plenty of ways for you to stay plugged in to our Santa Cruz County coverage. Sign up here for breaking news alerts via email and for any and all of our many other newsletters (including the specially curated Sunday Reads), all free. Download the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to keep it all one touch away on your smartphone, and follow Lookout on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and/or Threads if you’re navigating the wilds of social media.
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May our Friday be a smooth one, and here’s to a safe, relaxing (and cooler!) weekend beyond.
Will McCahill