Morning Lookout: What El Niño has in store for us, downtown’s vintage boom and post-storms legal fight

Greetings, all. It’s Monday, July 10, and Santa Cruz County has a typical clouds-to-sun weather outlook, with temperatures in the 70s and 80s and a gradual warm-up ahead.

There’s plenty new from Lookout, and if you’d rather page through it at your own pace, be my guest.
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Max Chun is on the weather beat as we start a new workweek, following news that El Niño conditions have begun in the tropical Pacific Ocean. A strong El Niño will typically bring both wetter and cooler conditions than normal during the winter months, which is when we’ll be most likely to see its effects here on the Central Coast.

The aftermath of this past winter’s fierce storms is still playing out in the Pajaro Valley, Christopher Neely reports, and while the disastrous flooding in Pajaro caught national attention, Watsonville residents whose homes were inundated between December and March are among hundreds making claims against a variety of local and state entities. That’s just part of Christopher’s In the Public Interest newsletter, coming to inboxes later Monday and which you can sign up for here.

Lookout has reported extensively on the changing face of downtown Santa Cruz, and Beki San Martin checks in with businesses that are driving a retail renaissance — a wave of vintage clothing stores. It’s part of a booming trend across the U.S., she found.

The Monday headlines also include Wallace Baine’s preview of a pivotal season kicking off this week for Santa Cruz Shakespeare, plus a Community Voices opinion piece on one woman’s foray into glassblowing. Let’s get to it.

As El Niño officially begins, what might the effects look like in Santa Cruz County?

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

The climate pattern known as El Niño has officially begun and is expected to bring cooler, wetter winters to some regions of the United States. While the effects on the Central Coast are not as clear cut, Santa Cruzans likely won’t see any significant impacts until the winter months. Max Chun reports.

➤ MORE: El Niño is back, bringing disruption, danger for California, world: ‘We need to be prepared’

New wave of vintage clothing stores helping drive a retail renaissance in downtown Santa Cruz

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

In the past 12 months, six new vintage stores have opened in Santa Cruz, contributing to a rebound of foot traffic downtown after pandemic lockdowns. Analysts say Santa Cruz’s vintage boom is being driven by younger shoppers and their increasing appetite for unique, environmentally sustainable second-hand clothing over mass-produced new items. Read more from Beki San Martin.

➤ CHANGING SANTA CRUZ: Lookout’s ongoing series on downtown development

OK, lots to pore over on this Monday. There’s more coming from Lookout, as usual, so follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay current with Santa Cruz County news and views. As I noted earlier, Christopher Neely’s In the Public Interest newsletter, covering local politics and policy, is also on the slate, and you can sign up here for that and all of Lookout’s other newsletters, plus breaking news alerts via email and text.

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Have a great Monday!

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz