A California Highway Patrol car and a sign reading "Road Closed"

Morning Lookout: Hwy. 17 closed; Cabrillo survey extended, teacher housing, Eaters Digest & a quiz

By Will McCahill

Source: Lookout Santa Cruz

Good morning, Lookout friends. It’s Friday, Feb. 24, and it’s shaping up to be a messy one around Santa Cruz County, with precipitation in the form of snow and rain wreaking havoc all over. The forecast calls for that to taper off a bit as the day goes on, and temps won’t get out of the 40s.

Santa Cruz County roads were a mess as Friday dawned, none more so than Highway 17. The main artery connecting our county to the San Francisco Bay Area was shut in both directions around 4 a.m., closed from Scotts Valley to Los Gatos and with no estimated reopening time as of this writing — so check back with Lookout for updates, and sign up for breaking news alerts here.

Hillary Ojeda is along with a pair of stories from the education beat: A survey asking the community for input on a name change for Cabrillo College has been extended through March 1 (that’s Wednesday), with the school hoping for more younger residents to weigh in. In the city of Santa Cruz, meanwhile, efforts are moving along to build rental housing for educators and school staff after the passage of Measures K and L last fall.

In her last serving of Eaters Digest before she steps away for maternity leave, Lily Belli fills us in on some tasty new options at the uber-local Capitola Mall food court, plus more news, notes and Santa Cruz County food events.

And we’ve got a new feature that you, avid readers of my newsletter, should check out post-haste: Lookout’s weekly news quiz, with 10 questions based on our correspondents’ work this past week.

Friday’s bumper crop of headlines also includes Wallace Baine’s recommendation-packed jaunt through the local arts and entertainment scene and our weekly Student Lookout feature, including where to find scholarships. Onward!

Snow, fallen trees close Highway 17 from Scotts Valley to Los Gatos

A California Highway Patrol car on snowy Highway 17

The California Highway Patrol shut down Highway 17 in both directions around 4 a.m. Friday from Granite Creek Road in Scotts Valley to Bear Creek Road in Los Gatos. There was no estimated time of reopening as of 6 a.m. More here.

➤ FROM THURSDAY: Around 8 inches of snow at highest Santa Cruz Mountains elevations; sporadic snowfall to continue through night

Cabrillo College PROMOTED CONTENT ROADBLOCK (Share your thoughts on impending name change)

Cabrillo College extends survey deadline, seeks more responses from youth

READ THE STORY: Is it time to jettison the name ‘Cabrillo’? Or, in fact, time to double down on it?

With a survey soliciting public input on Cabrillo College’s name change having received just over 1,200 responses as of Wednesday, the school has pushed the deadline to March 1 and asked local K-12 school districts to send it out to families. Hillary Ojeda has details.

➤ MORE: Applicants for vacant seat on Cabrillo governing board discuss declining enrollment, name change

UCSC PROMOTED CONTENT ROADBLOCK (Campus + Community, to facilitate social justice scholarships)

DAILY DIGEST

Santa Cruz County Job Board

Much to keep you busy on what’s already been an eventful Friday morning. Lookout is keeping tabs on it all, and you can click here to get breaking news alerts delivered right to you, plus all of our other newsletters, including the specially curated Sunday Reads. On social media, you can follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Our content isn’t possible without community support, so if you’re not already, please consider becoming a Lookout member.

Please be careful if you do have to venture out on those slick roads (and turn on your headlights in the rain and snow!), and have a safe, relaxing weekend.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz

FOR THE RECORD

An earlier version of this story from Wednesday misstated the nature of discussions Santa Cruz County Chief Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios had in 2016 about whether the City Selection Committee was subject to the Brown Act. He sought advice from the county’s administrator at the time, not a legal opinion from the county’s counsel.