Morning Lookout: Cabrillo name-change price tag, county’s first tranq death, affirmative action lessons

Hello again, Lookout friends. It’s Thursday, July 6, and Santa Cruz County should see sun and temps in the 60s and 70s after the usual cloudy start.

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As we get closer to a name change for Cabrillo College, Hillary Ojeda reports on what the process will cost. Updating campus maps, scoreboards and other signage is among the big-ticket items, with the school’s president stressing that no money from the college’s general fund will go toward changing the name.

Hillary also talked to local health officials after Santa Cruz County reported the first death linked to xylazine, a powerful animal sedative often mixed with fentanyl and other opioids.

And in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, politics columnist Mike Rotkin writes about the Supreme Court’s recent decision on affirmative action and what we can learn from the City of Santa Cruz’s approach.

Let’s take a look at the Thursday headlines.

Campus maps, highway signs, scoreboards: Why Cabrillo College’s renaming could cost up to $600,000

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Final estimates are still in the works, but the cost of renaming Cabrillo College is likely to include big-ticket items such as changing 25 campus maps, updating highway signs, rebranding the school’s logo and repainting its athletic scoreboards. College president Matt Wetstein said the work will be paid for through fundraising and is likely to be spread out over several years. Details here from Hillary Ojeda.

➤ MORE: Aptos, Cajastaca, Costa Vista, Seacliff, Santa Cruz Coast: Cabrillo College’s potential new names spark debate

Santa Cruz County reports first local death linked to potent animal tranquilizer xylazine

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Santa Cruz County’s public health department is warning of an increasing prevalence of xylazine in the local drug supply. The powerful sedative isn’t an opioid and doesn’t respond to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone. The warning comes after the death of a San Jose woman in Santa Cruz in early June and as the county recently reported that overdoses hit their highest rate in more than a year. Read more here.

➤ PREVIOUSLY: Opioid overdoses hit their highest rate in more than a year in Santa Cruz County in May

Upcoming events in Santa Cruz County

FRIDAY 9/29
Midtown Fridays @1111 Soquel Ave.
Food Truck Friday @Skypark
Mountain Film on Tour Santa Cruz @Rio Theatre
Roosevelt @The Catalyst

SATURDAY 9/30
Out of The Darkness Santa Cruz County Walk @Skypark
Community Crafters-Basic Earring Making Workshop @Boulder Creek Branch Library
Farm Dinner @1481 San Miguel Canyon Rd.
Big Mountain @Moe’s Alley
MaMuse, WildChoir & The Feelings Parade @Rio Theatre

SUNDAY 10/1
Halloween Pop-up Event @Little Trends
Rail & Trail Festival @Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
David Luning @Kuumbwa Jazz Center
Marc E. Bassy @The Catalyst

That ought to get you going this first Thursday of July. And if you might be peeking ahead to the weekend, you’ve got some company: Wallace Baine will be along later with Weekender, his recommendation-packed stroll through Santa Cruz County’s arts and culture scene. Sign up here for that and all of Lookout’s other newsletters, not to mention breaking news alerts via email and text. We’re on the socials, too, so follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay current with Santa Cruz County goings-on.

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Cheers to a good Thursday!

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz