Best of Lookout Santa Cruz
Launched in November 2020, Lookout aims to reshape local journalism, bringing back the trust and reliability that legacy news organizations once had. Our smart, connect-the-dots journalism has transformed the information landscape in Santa Cruz County, improving lives and strengthening democratic institutions.
In our first year, we’ve published more that 1,400 original stories — more than 3,200 total — providing you with the best in local journalism alongside Santa Cruz-oriented state and national coverage from the Los Angeles Times, CalMatters and others. The articles below produced by our team represent some of the best of what we’ve offered — and lay the foundation for more comprehensive community journalism in the post-pandemic future.
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Special Sections & Features:
February 2022
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Quick Take
An in-depth look at why Santa Cruz County is one of the state’s epicenters of homelessness, what is being done and the...
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The first two Starbucks stores in California to move to unionize — among 60 nationally — could soon be joined by another...
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January 2022
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A Feb. 3 meeting of the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission is likely to be heated. Why? Commissioners are...
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Quick Take
A volcanic eruption near New Zealand caused massive waves to inundate the island nation of Tonga and continue on to the...
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Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady and the crew immortalized in “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test,” not to mention the band that...
December 2021
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Quick Take
When Santa Cruz’s only big surf industry company, O’Neill Wetsuits, put on an event in October that for the first time...
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Quick Take
Anyone trying to purchase a home in Santa Cruz County recently might have seen their dream-home desires thwarted by a...
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November 2021
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“Helping girls grow with the flow in science, technology, engineering, art and math, as well as surfing” is the Drop In...
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With practices centered on growing crops atop mounds filled with wood and plant debris and letting the main crop mingle...
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Santa Cruz-based Goodles launched on Tuesday with a new boxed mac & cheese product in four varieties. The founding team...
October 2021
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In the past 12 months, five women have been victims of homicides, a dramatic jump from 2019. Service providers say they...
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After Santa Cruz County health officials lifted the mask mandate late last month, businesses have had to decide whether...
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The 831 Water Street project, which would have 50% of its units classified as affordable housing, is very contentious in...
September 2021
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Lookout Santa Cruz’s coverage of the stabbing attack Aug. 31, 2021, that left one Aptos High School student dead and two...
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As 30% of its population continues to either rebuild, mitigate damage or choose where else to go next, the state of...
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Those who see it up close talk to Lookout about what they view as the biggest challenges to fixing the problems that ail...
August 2021
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Lookout checks in on how the recovery effort is going in Santa Cruz County: In a multi-part series, we talk to the folks...
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Quick Take
The proposed Kaiser Permanente campus will include a four-story parking garage with an estimated 720 parking spots,...
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The name Boomeria comes not from the dramatic churchy sounds that emanate from the pipe-organ, but from the man, Preston...
July 2021
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Ruben Ibarra is the latest Watsonville resident to get drafted into Major League Baseball, but he won’t forget his roots...
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With seven new six- and seven-story buildings planned for downtown, nobody disputes that it will alter the look of Santa...
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A month after California’s grand June 15 re-opening, help wanted signs seemingly outnumber available workers. Local...
June 2021
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‘Should’ve done more’: Could a former soccer star have been saved? Family grieves, community wonders
‘Should’ve done more’: Could a former soccer star have been saved? Family grieves, community wonders
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Edward “Lalo” Murillo-Jimenez dreamed the kind of dream many soccer-loving kids growing up in Watsonville do. But when...
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The pandemic sank Artina Morton and Douglas Harr’s plans for an “ohana compound” at their historic Westside...
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Since his death in 2001, Jay Moriarity’s legend has continued to grow as a rare talent taken too soon, and a soul of...
May 2021
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Two young women have posted more than 45 stories detailing sexual assault and violence from students and alumni of San...
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Residents across the county reported hearing something akin to a sonic boom Thursday night. Lookout reached out to...
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Closed for about a year while state parks assessed storm damage, the pier leading to the SS Palo Alto at Seacliff State...
April 2021
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Two former San Lorenzo Valley High School students are telling Lookout about their experiences with Eric Kahl, one of...
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Santa Cruz playwright and actor Steve “Spike” Wong, a former schoolteacher, talked to Lookout Santa Cruz about the...
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O’Neill Sea Odyssey on Thursday evening responded to the resignation letter that its executive director, Rachel Kippen,...
March 2021
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When the Santa Cruz City Council voted to pass the new law and allow overnight camping by homeless people in part of the...
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THE HERE & NOW: When will Santa Cruz’s beloved old arthouse cinema the Nickelodeon reopen again? The answer lies...
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The issue is that the state’s “Healthy Places Index” is calculated using census tracts — but the vaccine allocation is...
February 2021
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LOOKOUT INVESTIGATES: Documents obtained by Lookout and interviews with district and county education officials reveal...
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THE HERE & NOW: A year into the pandemic, we’re still seeing anti-maskers parade around in public spaces — like in a...
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The architecture firm hired by Capitola to design its new library made a critical mistake by setting the building too...
January 2021
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Experts are hopeful the CZU burn scar might be more resistant to debris flows than was previously believed. But...
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Who were Miri Villalobos and Santiago Tehandon? Two members of a Watsonville community that has absorbed 45% of Santa...
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It turns out the actor has a youth cinema program that works with PVUSD students — and, like others, he was none too...
December 2020
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‘I was dead’: How a quick-rising swell at Pleasure Point nearly cost one experienced surfer his life
‘I was dead’: How a quick-rising swell at Pleasure Point nearly cost one experienced surfer his life
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Wayne Kiba was lucky to end up floating on his back in the water, he was lucky to have quick help from first responders...
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Doctoral student Carlos Cruz’s punishment overrides a recommendation he be let off with a warning. His peers, his union,...
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