LOOKOUT PM: Seafood in sight for the 4th? About the new Venus Beachside
Happy 4th of July weekend, folks.
Hope you have big plans or no plans at all.
It is all good.
The weather forecast is delightfully moderate which will hopefully keep any extra fire worries, that none of us need — especially our first responder friends — at bay.
Please don’t be afraid to call a knucklehead a knucklehead this weekend. Call them out loudly if needed. It could just help prevent an unnatural disaster.
With that bit of practical advice, let’s get to the headlines ...
After 11 years of rising Santa Cruz home prices, ‘we’re in a dip at the moment’
Cooling down: Home prices in Santa Cruz County have flattened and even begun to drop in recent months, as they have across the country. Will it last? Experienced realtors say it’s too early to say. Here’s what they told Max Chun.
➤ FROM MAY: ‘Not everybody really gets to live in a beach town’: Realtors on what’s ‘getting worse’ in Santa Cruz real estate (Lookout)
Superlative seafood, Venus Beachside opens and can the Perg rise again?
EATERS DIGEST: Enjoy your Independence Day weekend with local seafood recommendations, a free treat at the Boardwalk and weekend events for craft beer lovers. Lily’s got it all for you right here.
A creative, nuanced addition to the traditional comforts of Rio Del Mar
Venus Beachside: Sand dabs, lobster and tastes of the low country. The second Venus brings a bit of Westside panache to Aptos’ Rio Del Mar area as mid-county grows its fine dining scene. Lily Belli reviews the new kid on the block.
➤ MORE FROM LILY: All of Lookout’s food & drink coverage in one place
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‘We’re on a bridge to some new normal’: Cabrillo, UCSC summer sessions in full swing
A rebalancing act: Summer school at Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz kicked off in June, and with the COVID pandemic entering a new phase, officials are rebalancing in-person and remote learning, opening up new opportunities for both continuing students and high schoolers. Hillary Ojeda reports.
➤ MORE ON UCSC AND CABRILLO: All of Lookout’s higher ed coverage in one place
Construction well underway on new student housing at UC Santa Cruz
Construction well underway on new student housing at UC Santa Cruz
A quintessential Santa Cruz day, B9 fetes the Fourth and clockspotting
Weekender: Wallace Baine looks back at Woodies on the Wharf and the Pleasure Point Street Fair, ahead to Fourth of July weekend, and challenges you to find a timeless timepiece in his latest newsletter. Peruse it here.
➤ LOOKOUT’S FULL EVENTS CALENDAR: BOLO, your place to go for things to do
When are we going to outgrow fireworks?
Please be thinking: As we head into another Fourth of July celebration and with memories still fresh of the traumatic CZU fires that ravaged Santa Cruz County in 2020, we’re revisiting Wallace’s column from last year’s holiday weekend. Can we celebrate the nation’s birthday without “bombs bursting in air?” he asks. Read it here.
➤ MORE FIRE WORRIES: California company to shut off public access to forestland due to wildfire concerns (Los Angeles Times)
- Cash Control Staff at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
- Musical Theater Production, Summer 2022 - Adjunct Instructor at Cabrillo College
- Participant Service Representative at Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley
- Prospect Development Analyst at UC Santa Cruz
- Insurance Agent Training Program (Protégé Agent) at Farmers Insurance - Pedro Gonzalez Insurance Agency, Inc
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New California gas tax hits today, bringing higher pump prices — here’s what you should know
Up some more: Gas prices in California will go up about 3 cents on July 1 due to the state’s excise tax on gasoline, which is adjusted each year. Our partners at the Los Angeles Times explain.
➤ MORE FROM SACRAMENTO: Nation’s most sweeping law to phase out single-use plastics approved by California lawmakers (Los Angeles Times)
The Music of Sound: Chamber concert returns Saturday, March 5
The Music of Sound: Chamber concert returns Saturday, March 5
California climate rules won’t be undercut by Supreme Court’s ruling, experts say
Buffered? The Supreme Court’s decision to limit federal environmental protection rules will have little to no effect on California’s carbon-reduction policies, according to experts — and state leaders say they are doubling down on their climate commitment. Our partners at CalMatters report.
➤ A TUMULTUOUS SCOTUS SESSION: Find all our coverage of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and local reaction
More from here & elsewhere
➤ Next phase of Coastal Rail Trail construction begins this month (Sentinel)
➤ St. Francis football quartet makes college commitments (Pajaronian)
➤ AAU girls’ hoops team wins Bay Area tourney (Press Banner)
➤ Watsonville Police find missing at-risk teenage boy (KION)
➤ Alleged Proud Boys members disrupt Northern California drag show event (SF Gate)
That’s it for this week and the first day of July, everybody. Have a safe and sane holiday weekend and we’ll see you back here on Tuesday.
Mark Conley
Deputy Managing Editor
