The lobby of the alternate (upgraded) version of the renovated library at Church and Center streets.

Sunday Reads: A closer look at this library plan vs. that library plan

10 hot jobs PROMOTED CONTENT ROADBLOCK (February 26, 2023)

New Library vs. Renovated Library: What would Santa Cruz get?

A projection of the proposed renovated library at the site of the current library, looking from across Center Street.

What’s the difference? Let’s do a side-by-side comparison. The new downtown branch library will make a statement, and for a long time, about downtown Santa Cruz. Whether built new on a current parking lot or renovated where it’s sat since 1969, it’ll cost more than $40 million for the best possible of each. Wallace Baine talks with architect Abraham Jayson, giving us a virtual tour of what each would be like. Here’s the breakdown.

➤ MEASURE O IN A NUTSHELL: Wallace runs down the nitty gritty here.

Cabrillo College PROMOTED CONTENT ROADBLOCK (Enrollment growth, new initiatives)

My daughter was among the last to leave Santa Cruz High amid reports of an active shooter; the wait was terrifying

The unthinkable: Thursday’s event turned out to be a hoax, but it reminded us how close we live to tragedy. How quickly the images of Uvalde, Parkland, Newtown and Columbine reappear in our minds. Community Voices Editor Jody K. Biehl recounts the short hours and long anxiety of Thursday’s false active shooter report at Santa Cruz High. An important read here.

➤ MORE FROM THE PARENTS & STUDENTS: Read the reaction here.

Following the money: Final campaign finance receipts provide clues to Nov. 8

The final round of fundraising and expenditure reports for Santa Cruz County candidates were due late Thursday. Lookout dug in to see what stories they told. Here’s what we found. Read more here.

We’re housing experts: This is why Measure O’s logic doesn’t add up

A No on Measure O campaign sign in Santa Cruz

Four Santa Cruz community members with 75 years of experience insist Measure O doesn’t make sense if we really care about creating affordable housing. Stopping the city’s project will add years of planning and bureaucracy, they write, and might not yield any new housing. “The proponents (of Measure O) lack sufficient knowledge of the affordable housing development process,” they say. They explain why here. Read their full op-ed here.

➤ MORE: Find all of Lookout’s Measure O coverage here (Lookout)