Morning Lookout: Housing Live Oak educators, Kaiser-county agreement, a plumber’s insight

Hey hey hey. It is Monday, April 3, and the new workweek brings a breezy, sunny day for Santa Cruz County, with highs in the mid-50s.

If you’re ready to speed out of the gate and into Lookout’s latest, get movin’.
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It’s a busy start to the week, and indeed the month of April, here at Lookout. With Santa Cruz City Schools ramping up to build housing for its workforce, Hillary Ojeda reports on similar efforts in Live Oak School District, which is aiming to develop as many as 70 units at a site near the intersection of 17th Avenue and Capitola Road.

This being Monday, I’ve also got the latest newsletter from politics and policy correspondent Christopher Neely. In the Public Interest digs into an agreement approved last week by county supervisors between Santa Cruz County and health care provider Kaiser Permanente, plus news and notes from around the county.

Monday also means another installment of Lookout’s How I Got My Job series, which this week sees Kaya Henkes-Power chatting with plumber Scott Liess on how he got into the trade, how it’s changed over the years and the impact of tech on his business.

The day’s headlines also include Wallace Baine on the chroniclers of Hip Santa Cruz, tips from Martin Quigley of the UCSC Arboretum on what you can do for plants drowning under all the rain we’ve had and plenty more, so read along.

‘This will be a game-changer’: Live Oak School District in very early planning stages for workforce housing

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

A 2-acre site at 1777 Capitola Road could be turned into 60 to 70 units to house Live Oak School District workers. Officials are mulling a 2024 bond measure, and a district committee also aims to explore ways to include two community organizations now headquartered at the site in the development. Get details from Hillary Ojeda.

➤ MORE LOCAL EFFORTS: Santa Cruz City Schools’ workforce housing could be completed in three years if all goes to plan, district says

In the Public Interest: Examining Kaiser’s deal with Santa Cruz County

(Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)

In the latest edition of In the Public Interest, Christopher Neely digs into the Access to Medical Care Agreement approved last week by county supervisors with Kaiser Permanente and what it means on the local health care scene. Read it here.

➤ MORE: Read previous installments and subscribe to In the Public Interest here

A busy first Monday in April for sure, and with more coming from Lookout, you’d do well to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay current with what’s happening around Santa Cruz County. Another great way to do that is via our other newsletters and our breaking news text and email alerts, which you can sign up for here. (All that is also recommended for boosting your scores on our weekly news quiz.)

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Have a super Monday!

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz