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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By Max Chun
Quick Take
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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By Jacob Pierce
Quick Take
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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Quick Take
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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By Maria Gaura
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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By Mark Conley
Quick Take
“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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By Georgia Johnson
Quick Take
With practices centered on growing crops atop mounds filled with wood and plant debris and letting the main crop mingle...
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By Lily Belli
Quick Take
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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Quick Take
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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Quick Take
After Santa Cruz County health officials lifted the mask mandate late last month, businesses have had to decide whether...
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Quick Take
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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By LOOKOUT SANTA CRUZ STAFF
Quick Take
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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By Mark Conley
Quick Take
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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Quick Take
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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By Lookout Santa Cruz Staff
Quick Take
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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By Neil Strebig
Quick Take
The proposed Kaiser Permanente campus will include a four-story parking garage with an estimated 720 parking spots,...
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Quick Take
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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By Max Chun
Quick Take
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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By Maria Gaura
Quick Take
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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By Neil Strebig
Quick Take
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
By Mark ConleyQuick Take
Edward “Lalo” Murillo-Jimenez dreamed the kind of dream many soccer-loving kids growing up in Watsonville do. But when...
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By Will McCahill
Quick Take
The pandemic sank Artina Morton and Douglas Harr’s plans for an “ohana compound” at their historic Westside...
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Quick Take
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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By Tulsi Kamath
Quick Take
Two young women have posted more than 45 stories detailing sexual assault and violence from students and alumni of San...
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Quick Take
Residents across the county reported hearing something akin to a sonic boom Thursday night. Lookout reached out to...
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Quick Take
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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By Nick Ibarra
Quick Take
Two former San Lorenzo Valley High School students are telling Lookout about their experiences with Eric Kahl, one of...
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Quick Take
Santa Cruz playwright and actor Steve “Spike” Wong, a former schoolteacher, talked to Lookout Santa Cruz about the...
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By Lookout Santa Cruz Staff
Quick Take
O’Neill Sea Odyssey on Thursday evening responded to the resignation letter that its executive director, Rachel Kippen,...
March 2021
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Quick Take
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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Quick Take
THE HERE & NOW: When will Santa Cruz’s beloved old arthouse cinema the Nickelodeon reopen again? The answer lies...
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Quick Take
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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By Nick Ibarra
Quick Take
LOOKOUT INVESTIGATES: Documents obtained by Lookout and interviews with district and county education officials reveal...
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Quick Take
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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Quick Take
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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Quick Take
Experts are hopeful the CZU burn scar might be more resistant to debris flows than was previously believed. But...
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Quick Take
Who were Miri Villalobos and Santiago Tehandon? Two members of a Watsonville community that has absorbed 45% of Santa...
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Quick Take
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
By Mark ConleyQuick Take
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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By Nick Ibarra
Quick Take
Doctoral student Carlos Cruz’s punishment overrides a recommendation he be let off with a warning. His peers, his union,...
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