Ocean activist Dan Haifley argues that Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will help complete a zone of ocean protection along the California coast that stretches from Point Arena to the north to the Channel Islands to the south. The decision now rests with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Biden-Harris administration and Congress.
Coast Life
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Fresh from the Olympics, Măcelaru returns to lead a new season at Cabrillo Festival
The annual Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music will present some of the world’s leading performers of orchestral and chamber music over the next two weeks at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz became only the second California city to close the gender pay gap in sports. How?
All city-sanctioned competitions in Santa Cruz that offer prize money must offer equal payouts to men and women. How is Santa Cruz only the second California city to require this?
Posted inEnvironment
Rare harlequin duck spotted in Santa Cruz sparks frenzy among birdwatchers
Throngs of birdwatchers have gathered at the Santa Cruz Harbor to catch a glimpse of a female harlequin duck, which is rarely spotted this far south, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz’s oversized vehicle ordinance goes into effect Monday. Will it help solve homelessness?
The City of Santa Cruz’s oversized vehicle ordinance goes into effect Monday after a lengthy road to approval. While safe parking services are available for those living in RVs and campers, spaces are often full, and some worry about the ability of their often old vehicles to withstand traveling to and from the designated parking areas.
Posted inEnvironment
Rare plant spotted for first time in Santa Cruz County reveals hidden ecosystem reborn in fire
A hobby naturalist walking in the Santa Cruz Mountains discovered a patch of what turned out to be Humboldt County milkvetch, a rare plant that had never been spotted south of Mendocino County. Scientists believe the plant — known as a fire-follower because it often appears after a great disturbance to the landscape — actually has a far wider range than initially understood, but its seeds lay dormant here for decades until the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire. The discovery sheds light on how forestry practices that emphasized fire suppression have reshaped the landscape, reducing the biodiversity of plant life.
Posted inCoast Life
Carmageddon: This week’s delays and the latest on the rail trail
The ongoing road projects around Santa Cruz County seek to improve the biking and walking experience, too, with pedestrian crossings soon coming to Highway 1. And though it won’t affect traffic, 2024 will see more progress on the Coastal Rail Trail as well.
Posted inCoast Life
The wild, colorful, monstrous art of Jimbo Phillips
Santa Cruz’s Jimbo Phillips is the middle link in a three-generation line of great local graphic artists. As the son of the man who invented the Santa Cruz Skateboards logo and the Screaming Hand, he has carved out his own signature style with an aesthetic deeply informed by the 1980s, surfing, skating and punk rock.
Posted inFood & Drink
California Dungeness crab season delayed for a second time this year
The start of California’s commercial Dungeness crab fishing season has been delayed for a second time because of a high risk that migrating humpback whales may become entangled in the fishing gear, state officials announced Friday. The next assessment to determine the risk of whale entanglement scheduled for around Dec. 7. Recreational crabbers along parts of the Central Coast, including Santa Cruz County, will also continue to face restrictions on using traps.
Posted inFood & Drink
Laurie Love on Wine: My Wine of the Week, reader Q&A and Thanksgiving wine pairings
In Part 2 of this week’s column, Lookout wine expert Laurie Love taps a 2013 Santa Cruz Mountains Bordeaux blend as her Wine of the Week, lends her expertise in the service of a reader question and delivers advice and recommendations aplenty on finding the perfect wines for however you do Thanksgiving dinner.