The City of Santa Cruz Public Works Department is preparing for the winter by prioritizing West Cliff Drive repairs and performing maintenance on the San Lorenzo River levee to ensure its capacity is sufficient to handle increased water flow in the event of a rainy winter. That could come true, with an El Niño pattern looming in the Pacific Ocean.
Coast Life
Posted inEnvironment
As heat waves warm the Pacific Ocean, effects on marine life remain murky
While satellites and offshore buoys can inform scientists about marine heat waves, the effects on ocean species are less understood.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Remembering the first (and last) concert the Grateful Dead ever played in Santa Cruz County — 40 years ago Sunday
Though Santa Cruz County certainly qualifies as Grateful Dead-friendly territory — and UCSC houses the Grateful Dead Archive — the legendary band played just one show here: Sept. 24, 1983, at the county fairgrounds outside Watsonville. While some locals who were involved with the concert have mixed reviews, the Dead will get their due Sunday night at a special anniversary edition of Felton Music Hall’s weekly Grateful Sundays.
Posted inCity Life
Midtown Fridays ending season with a bang as organizer celebrates a milestone
The Sept. 29 edition of Midtown Fridays will be double the size of the usual block party along Soquel Avenue, with Santa Cruz legend James Durbin headlining and 30 vendors lined up. All that comes as organizer Matthew Swinnerton celebrates 10 years in business for his one-man company, Event Santa Cruz. “We have a lot of manufactured experiences to connect people,” Swinnerton says of the current scene and how Event Santa Cruz aims to be different. “And I always wanted to make sure ours were genuine.”
Posted inFood & Drink
Introducing Lookout wine correspondent Laurie Love: Fall harvest, Bargetto turns 90, nebbiolo in Santa Cruz
In the launch of Laurie Love on Wine, meet Lookout’s new wine correspondent, get an update on harvest and vineyard conditions, find upcoming Santa Cruz County wine events, check out her wine of the week and brush up with Wine 101.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
Legendary skater Tony Alva reflects on what Santa Cruz Skateboards has meant in his career
As NHS Inc., the parent company of Santa Cruz Skateboards, celebrates its 50th anniversary, Wallace Baine tracked down Tony Alva to get a sense of Santa Cruz Skateboards’ impact not just on Alva’s career but on the skate world at large.
Posted inCoast Life
Forged by chilly waters (and some tears), recent Santa Cruz grad heads to international surf rescue competition
Santa Cruz High graduate Sae Ackerstein, whose junior guards experience was the subject of a Lookout opinion piece that caused some social media ripples earlier this year, is off to Texas this week, where with Soquel High senior Madalyn “Munchie” Price she will compete with Team USA at the International Surf Rescue Challenge.
Posted inHousing & Development
Santa Cruz County realtors say housing market to strengthen as pandemic-era buyers rethink remote work, second homes
Santa Cruz County’s housing market had a slow summer, though home buyers still showed plenty of interest in more affordable South County and mountain communities. But with interest rates expected to dip by next year, some real estate agents say pandemic-era buyers might be starting to sell — and competition could heat up.
Posted inHousing & Development
What’s our vibe? Can Santa Cruz learn from Miami Beach?
Urban muraling, colorful and unique lifeguard towers and more. Santa Cruz finds itself in the throes of some big changes brought about by the ambitious plans for development, ones that could make the city look and feel radically different in just a few years. So it’s time to ask: What can or should the city or its residents do to assert its personality in the public sphere? We want your ideas — drawn from your travels and experiences.
Posted inCoast Life
The sights, the sounds and the smells: Wallace Baine takes you on a tour of the Santa Cruz County Fair
Go inside the 2023 Santa Cruz County Fair, running through Sunday at the fairgrounds in Watsonville, with Lookout’s Wallace Baine via video shot by Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud.