Morning Lookout: Aptos nightmare property dispute, a cider geek and storm latest

Hello, Lookout friends. It’s Monday, March 13, and Santa Cruz County is looking at showers early before heavier rain and gusty winds move in for the overnight hours — conditions that could lead to more flooding and downed trees and power lines, so stay tuned and please heed warnings from county officials and law enforcement.

We’re keeping close track of the weather and its effects, including flood evacuation orders and warnings, school and road closures and plenty more in Storm Central, updated regularly as conditions change. Don’t forget to sign up for email and text alerts to get the latest delivered right to you.

If you’re looking to get right to what’s new on Lookout (and there’s a lot!), here you go.
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With a ruling expected Monday in a Santa Cruz courtroom, Max Chun wades into the property dispute between an Aptos couple and their famous neighbor, singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. “I distinctly remember calling out to Chris and saying, ‘We’re not being couch potatoes, I want some adventure,’” plaintiff Sarah Claus said of the decision to move to the area with husband Christopher Wheeler. “Now, whenever I hear that word ‘adventure,’ I say that I wish I never said that.”

With the workweek off and running, we’ve got another installment of our How I Got My Job series. This week, Nicole Todd of Santa Cruz Cider Company talks about her journey, combating sexism and geeking out on apples.

Before we get to the headlines, I wanted to alert you to the latest addition to our stable of newsletters. Christopher Neely’s In the Public Interest brings you updates from the world of Santa Cruz County governments, digging into the people, politics and policies reshaping our community. In his initial offering, hitting inboxes in a few hours, Christopher spotlights friction on the board of supervisors involving one of Supervisor Justin Cummings’ nominations to the county’s planning commission. Get more here on all our newsletter offerings.

A packed set of Monday headlines also includes where to find the fungus that’s at the center of the HBO Max hit “The Last of Us,” the latest novel from a Santa Cruz local and, from our Community Voices opinion section, a debate about student housing and UC Santa Cruz’s East Meadow. Let’s take a look.

Nightmare in Aptos paradise as Jackson Browne property dispute heads toward court decision

(Thomas Sawano / Lookout Santa Cruz)

On Monday, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Timothy Volkmann is expected to issue a final ruling on the Aptos property dispute between singer Jackson Browne and a local couple. While the legal arguments of the case could turn on the nuances of easement and property law, the dispute between Christopher Wheeler and Sarah Claus and the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer also offers a rare glimpse at the fault lines over wealth, privilege and the price of privacy that exist in Santa Cruz County, where the median home price now stands at $1.3 million. Read more from Max Chun.

➤ BACKGROUND: Find all of Lookout’s coverage of the case in one place

Santa Cruz Cider Company’s Nicole Todd on entrepreneurship and the wonders of apples

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Nicole Todd, cider maker and owner of Watsonville’s Santa Cruz Cider Company, spoke with Lookout about her experience in the burgeoning cider sector, being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated business, and how someone can pursue a job in the beverage industry. Here’s her Q&A with Kaya Henkes-Power.

➤ HOW I GOT MY JOB: A psychiatrist, an industrial designer and more in our series on working in Santa Cruz

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You’re up to speed to get the new workweek going, but the news carousel isn’t stopping, so I’d recommend you sign up for Lookout’s breaking news alerts to keep current with what’s going on around Santa Cruz County. Following Lookout on social media is another good way to stay in the know — find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Stay safe out there this Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz