Morning Lookout: Craft beer guide, West Cliff changes and fighting fentanyl

Hello again, my Lookout pals. It is Friday, April 28, and it’s going to be a varied day for Santa Cruz County weather — sunny and temps in the 80s in the mountains, foggy and 60s at the coast, a mix in between. The sun should shine through the weekend, so with rain in the forecast next week, get out and enjoy it.

It’s another busy day across Lookout, and if you’re too busy for the tour, better get exploring.
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West Cliff Drive was the focus of a community meeting Thursday evening, and Max Chun was on hand to hear both how the City of Santa Cruz is thinking about plans for the iconic roadway and adjacent streets, and about what residents group Save West Cliff has planned to engage and inform locals.

Max also reports on continued efforts to combat the fentanyl epidemic plaguing the county, with a recent event at Cabrillo College distributing the opioid antagonist Narcan and, perhaps more important, trying to remove the stigma attached to talking about addiction and preparing for overdose.

I’ve also got some good stuff to pore through as we head into the weekend. Laura Sutherland scoped out Santa Cruz County’s craft beer scene, so read on for a guide to the world-class breweries we’re so lucky to have on seemingly every corner. Wallace Baine, meanwhile, is your guide to the local arts and culture scene, filling us in with news, notes, trivia and recommendations in his latest Weekender.

The Friday headlines also include the latest Student Lookout — onward!

Craft beer on every corner: A guide to Santa Cruz County’s world-class scene

(Laura Sutherland / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Santa Cruz County is small, but our craft beer punches way above its weight class. Laura Sutherland had the tough assignment of scoping out breweries and brewpubs (often with trusted pooch Waffles) from Scotts Valley to Soquel, Westside to Watsonville for the latest Lookout guide. Explore it all here.

➤ MORE LOOKOUT GUIDES: From neighborhoods to parenting, food, drink and recreation, get to know Santa Cruz County better

Cul-de-sacs and long-term erosion: Citizens, city staff take up gnarly issues of ‘saving West Cliff’

(Max Chun / Lookout Santa Cruz)

The City of Santa Cruz’s first in-person community meeting about the future of West Cliff Drive on Thursday showed some direction for the area. Most notably, the Oxford Way cul-de-sac is a go. And more community meetings driven by residents group Save West Cliff are slated for this summer as locals grapple with the options. Max Chun has details.

➤ PREVIOUSLY: Saving West Cliff: ‘If we decide not to do anything, then you will have nothing’

Boy, I’m about ready for a beer or two right now. (Kidding, kidding, not until after another cup of coffee at least.) Whatever your beverage of choice, please check back later for another Friday staple, Wallace Baine’s weekly news quiz. That’s coming soon, and you can keep up with Lookout’s latest and news from around Santa Cruz County by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We also offer breaking news alerts via text and email, to say nothing of a host of other newsletters (Sunday Reads, for example, or Christopher Neely’s In the Public Interest, on local politics and policy) — so click right here to sign up.

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Be safe out there this Friday, and have a nice, relaxing weekend.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz