Morning Lookout: Inside UCSC’s big admissions jump, Emily’s Bakery shuts & a parent in prison

Wakey wakey, fellow Santa Cruzans. It is Tuesday, Aug. 15, and our local forecast calls for another day of morning fog dissipating into sunny skies and temperatures from the 70s to the 90s.

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Hillary Ojeda leads things off this Tuesday, digging in on record admissions at UC Santa Cruz. UCSC sent offer letters to more than 43,000 first-year students this year, the largest of any of the nine University of California campuses, but the school is expecting less than 5,000 of those to enroll between fall and winter.

Down the hill, a landmark for UCSC students, Westside residents and Mission Street travelers has closed its doors, Lily Belli reports: Emily’s Bakery shuttered at the end of July after being in business since 1982.

And in our Community Voices opinion section, longtime Santa Cruz resident Jeri Ross writes about growing up with her father serving a life sentence in prison. It was a complicated relationship, she writes, and one that millions of U.S. children must navigate.

You’ll find those stories and more among the day’s headlines — onward.

UC Santa Cruz faces admissions ‘perfect storm’ as school admits record level of first-year students

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

UC Santa Cruz sent offer letters to more than 43,000 first-year students this year, the largest of any of the nine UC campuses. That number is up nearly 40% from last year, the biggest increase of any UC school. But UCSC is expecting to enroll around just 4,650 first-year students between fall and winter as it juggles a complex confluence of factors that have made it harder to anticipate how many students will ultimately accept admission offers. Hillary Ojeda crunches the numbers.

➤ MORE FROM CAMPUS: Joint Cabrillo College-UCSC student housing project in limbo after changes to state budget

Emily’s Bakery closes after 41 years on the Westside

(Lookout Santa Cruz)

A Santa Cruz mainstay since 1982, Emily’s Bakery closed at the end of July, with a sign at the Mission Street location saying that owners Emily Reilly and her husband, Robert Nahas, have retired. Lily Belli has details.

➤ MORE FROM LILY: Eaters Digest: Chicken and waffles at Firefly Tavern

If that all has whetted your appetite for more from Lookout, you are in luck. Among what’s coming later Tuesday is another scoop of Lily Belli on Food — that will be hitting inboxes presently, and you can sign up for all of Lookout’s other newsletters, plus breaking news alerts via email and text, by clicking right here. Lookout is also on social media — find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads to keep up with goings-on around Santa Cruz County.

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Keep it real this Tuesday, and I’ll catch you next time.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz