Morning Lookout: Affordable housing spotlight, masks off and Valentine’s options
Hey hey, good morning! It’s Thursday, Feb. 10, and the Santa Cruz County forecast calls for continued sunny skies and temps in the high 70s and touching 80.
Lookout has brought you plenty of coverage of local employment ups and downs, and today we’re adding another tool to the toolbox.
➤ LOCAL JOBS YOU’LL LOVE: See all the most recent listings.
- Program Specialist I - Friends Outside Program at Santa Cruz Volunteer Center
- Executive Assistant at UC Santa Cruz
- Marketing Director at Second Harvest Food Bank
Also on our radar this morning:
- A forum this evening will detail a pair of affordable housing ideas that could be on Santa Cruz’s ballot in November.
- County health officials are relaxing indoor masking rules effective next week, aligning with state guidelines.
- Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and Lookout’s Max Chun details our county’s wealth of options for spending it with that special someone.
- And no need to go over the hill to get in on the San Francisco Beer Week festivities — Santa Cruz County has plenty, and Lily Belli has your guide to it all.
So let’s get after it:
Affordable housing ideas in the spotlight
A virtual forum planned for this evening will detail two possible ballot measures Santa Cruz voters could see in November. Lookout’s Grace Stetson runs it down.
➤ RELATED: Santa Cruz updates design proposal for much-debated mixed-use library project (Lookout)
Masks off again
Vaccinated individuals will no longer be required to wear masks indoors as of next Wednesday; the mandate remains in place for those who haven’t been vaccinated and in K-12 schools, health care settings and on public transit. Get the details here.
➤ PREVIOUSLY: Statewide mandate for indoor masking to sunset on Feb. 15 (Los Angeles Times)
Valentine’s Day: The extravagant, the low-key, and the socially distant
Not sure what to do for the day of lovers? There’s no shortage of options for a fun day or evening around Santa Cruz. Lookout’s Max Chun lays it out.
➤ NEED MORE? Lily Belli has some foodie finds in her latest newsletter
The Santa Cruz County guide to SF Beer Week
Whether you’re a hophead, big on Belgians, serious about sours or a lover of lagers, there’s plenty to look forward to as a Bay Area institution kicks off 10 days of brewerific festivities Friday. Lookout’s Lily Belli has your roadmap.
➤ MORE FROM LILY: Find all of Lookout’s food and drink coverage here
When is it really safe to take off your mask in California?
Even as indoor mask orders in Santa Cruz County and across the state are set to expire next week, health officials are still encouraging people to wear masks while transmission rates are up. Our partners at the Los Angeles Times talk to the experts.
➤ LOCAL SHOTS, BOOSTERS: Santa Cruz County vaccine update: Rates, where to find a COVID shot or test; wait, cost and turnaround times (Lookout)
Huntington Beach oil spill inspires legislation to ban California offshore drilling
The legislation would affect 11 existing oil leases, all off the Orange and Ventura County coastlines. Get the details from the Times here.
➤ FROM OCTOBER: What it was like to surf on day of Huntington Beach oil spill: Frantic dolphins, exhaust smell (Los Angeles Times)
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Around the county ...
➤ ‘Privates’ beach access approved for Santa Cruz County takeover (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
➤ Longtime county supervisor Greg Caput won’t seek reelection in June (The Pajaronian)
➤ Scotts Valley boy’s suicide prompts calls for SVUSD to address issues (The Press Banner)
➤ One ‘affordable’ home for every 3,500 middle-class homebuyers in San Jose (SFGate)
COMING TOMORROW: Who are the people and what are the places or things that are immediately identifiable with Santa Cruz County? What are the touchstones that symbolize or represent home for locals? In our new ongoing series, Lookout’s Wallace Baine considers all those icons of the visible environment across the county — from buildings to murals, from sculptures to logos — and discovers the stories that connect them to us all. Up first on Friday: That dashing young man who stands on his pedestal gazing pensively was designed as a tribute to all surfers. But he’s become the mascot for all of Santa Cruz.
That should be plenty to get you revved up this Thursday. But there’s plenty more on tap from Lookout today, including our Best Bets for things to do this weekend and beyond — so I’d recommend you keep tabs by bookmarking our website and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And you can get Best Bets and all of our newsletters, plus breaking news alerts and more, via our Lookout Newsletter & Text Center.
All that great content isn’t possible without community support — so if you’re not already, please consider becoming a Lookout member.
Now go get your Thursday on! I’ll see you all back here tomorrow.
Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz
