Morning Lookout: Snow incoming, an illegal-meetings mea culpa, would-be Cabrillo trustees

Hi folks. It’s Wednesday, Feb. 22, and the forecast is a wintry one for Santa Cruz County — breezy, chances of rain, thunderstorms and hail, and high temperatures in just the 40s. Not to mention snow, about which more later.

There’s a lot to dig into on Lookout, so if you’re too busy for the guided tour, dive on in.
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The Santa Cruz Mountains are likely to see some snow as this latest weather system makes its way through the area, with one meteorologist telling Max Chun that as much as 8 to 12 inches is possible — though it won’t all stick.

It was a storm of a different kind gripping area politics after Lookout found that local mayors and other Santa Cruz County officials had been violating state open-meetings laws for years. A meeting redo Tuesday afternoon saw stern words, apologies and, Christopher Neely reports, some changes to whom the City Selection Committee nominated to the powerful California Coastal Commission.

From the world of higher education, Hillary Ojeda talks to three candidates to fill the seat on the Cabrillo College board of trustees left vacant when Felipe Hernandez was elected county supervisor in November. Declining enrollment and the school’s proposed name change were among the topics at top of mind.

Wednesday’s headlines also include details on the weekend death of a volunteer firefighter recruit, an altercation that left a local high school student in critical condition, the latest COVID data and news from the county’s food and drink scene from Lily Belli, so let’s delay no longer.

Snowfall forecast for Santa Cruz Mountains; 8-12 inches possible

(Via Pixabay)

Wednesday morning to Thursday morning marks the first time in over a decade that any part of the Monterey Bay area has been put under a winter storm watch. Though up to 12 inches sounds like a lot, the snowfall is expected to be wet and will therefore not accumulate much. Max Chun breaks it down.

➤ BRRRR: Has Santa Cruz been colder than usual this winter?

In redo of illegal meeting, mayors advance only one of original Coastal Commission nominations; county promises change

(Via Santa Cruz County)

By convening private meetings to make appointments and nominations to influential state and regional boards, a committee of Santa Cruz County mayors, accompanied by city and county government executives, was found to have been violating state law for more than 20 years. In its first public meeting in at least decades, the City Selection Committee accepted blame and apologized to the public. Read more from Christopher Neely.

➤ PREVIOUSLY: ‘It’s a mess’: Attempt at illegal Coastal Commission nominations shows decades of state law violations by Santa Cruz County

That’s what I know for now, but if you’re looking to keep tabs on all that’s going on around Santa Cruz County, may I suggest Lookout’s breaking news alerts? Sign up here to get those delivered right to you, and peruse our other newsletter offerings, too. Social media is another great way to keep up — follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Stay warm, take it slow on slippery roads, and I’ll meet you back here Thursday.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz