Helping Santa Cruz’s most vulnerable residents, those experiencing chronic homelessness, find cover from the elements has been challenging during this historic run of extreme winter weather. An emergency 24/7 shelter at the Civic Auditorium was shut down due to what the city called “inadequate resources” and what others described as a chaotic environment. Another smaller overnight shelter that launched at Depot Park is attempting to fill the void and staffed by an organization better equipped to handle the unhoused population, observers say.
Housing
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘It’s crazy’: Massive flooding strikes the Rio Del Mar flats
‘It’s the flats and it’s famous for flooding,” said one longtime Rio Del Mar resident who had been evacuated from the area and was waiting anxiously to see the state of her house after massive waves flooded the area Thursday morning.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Watch: The Cement Ship’s losing battle against a raging ocean at Seacliff State Beach
‘It’s the flats and it’s famous for flooding,” said one longtime Rio Del Mar resident who had been evacuated from the…
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Capitola Wharf taking a beating, Esplanade taking on water
The worst of possibilities, a massive swell peaking just as the tide was at its highest, may have been avoided in Capitola. But the wharf and Village were still under siege from an angry Pacific Ocean as city workers made efforts to minimize the damage.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Unsung Santa Cruz: With a name like Strongheart, showing other vulnerable youth how to thrive comes naturally
It’s been a decade since Ooli Strongheart, then 15, found a safe haven for transition-age youth (TAY) that helped fill in many of the missing gaps from a childhood devoid of love and support, filled with trauma and fear. Soon to be a UC Santa Cruz graduate, the former foster and homeless youth is passionate about giving back to the program — now aptly known as the ‘Thrive Hive’ — that has helped them recognize their purpose and potential in this world.
Posted inFood & Drink
Chef Jessica Yarr to open new café in Felton
Jessica Yarr of Chicken Foot and the Brunch Shift aims to open a family-friendly café and bakery in downtown Felton by March.
Posted inFood & Drink
Chill Out Café, Golden City Chinese close after 20-plus years
After 25 and 22 years, respectively, Pleasure Point burrito shack Chill Out Café and family-owned Golden City Chinese in Santa Cruz closed at the end of 2022.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Santa Cruz County 2023: Inside Wallace Baine’s crystal ball of predictions and prophecies
With a new year upon us, Wallace turns to his favorite drag-queen psychic, the Fabulous Ms. Claire Voyant, to peer into the unknown … and goodness, did Ms. Claire have some visions about name-change fervor across the county, the new downtown library, fashion plate Fred Keeley and plenty more.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Remembrance 2022: Santa Cruz County looks back at those we lost
In the final chapter of his series remembering prominent members of the Santa Cruz County community who died in 2022, Wallace Baine spotlights a barber-author, artists, activists, an academic and more.
Posted inFood & Drink
Longtime food & drink columnist Christina Waters switching gears
“I can now expand my arts writing free from the insistent pace of the weekly column,” Christina Waters says of what’s ahead after some 35 years at local alt-weeklies.