Longtime UC Santa Cruz researcher Joji Muramoto is the first organic soil specialist employed by the University of California system. The rich history of the area’s organic movement was largely spawned in the northern half of Santa Cruz County and inspires people like him. But the market-driven realities that prevent more South County farmers from growing organic present an ongoing challenge to sustainability and a reduction in carcinogenic pesticide use.
Housing
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Pressure building on pesticides, Driscoll’s says it will consider organic-only by schools
A new advocacy group’s campaign to educate the public about the dangers of pesticides sprayed near neighborhoods with schools in Watsonville has also focused specific pressure on berry giant Driscoll’s, a multibillion-dollar company spawned in Santa Cruz County. Leaders at Driscoll’s and its main affiliated grower confirmed to Lookout that they are listening.
Posted inHousing & Development
Coastal Haven, a lifelong home for people with disabilities, rings in its first anniversary
Tucked against Pogonip Creek, a cluster of nine colorful bungalows forms Coastal Haven — a “pocket community” for 11 families who have adult children with disabilities. The hope, its founders Heidi Cartan and Philippe Habib say, is that this will be the children’s homes for a lifetime.
Posted inK-12 Education
Prom or Passover? Schools making progress on accommodating the diversity of Santa Cruz County
Debra Feldstein, a mother of two high school students, wants her children’s religious holidays to be considered as important as any other child’s. That’s why each year her children have been in school, she has been asking school officials to plan events around Jewish religious holidays, and those of all religious minority groups. Now, after several updates, she’s feeling cautiously optimistic.
Posted inGuides
Guide to Open Studios 2022: Fully ‘open’ once again, tour showcases Santa Cruz’s wealth of artistic talent
With the Open Studios Art Tour set for the weekends of Oct. 1-2, Oct. 8-9 and Oct. 15-16, here’s your guide for getting around Santa Cruz County and taking advantage of all the great artists welcoming you into their creative spaces. You’ll find painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography, jewelry, woodworking, metal, glass, mosaics, clothing, ceramics and more.
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Embrace coastal living at this roomy Seabright Santa Cruz home
Live your best beach lifestyle with alluring sand and breathtaking ocean views in a hideaway mid-century home tucked…
Posted inCoast Life
As Pleasure Point braces for change, its development issues resonate all over Santa Cruz County
With Santa Cruz County’s sustainability plan moving toward approval, one notoriously independent surf-centered neighborhood sits in the crosshairs of future change. How fast things along the Portola Drive corridor are disrupted, and how many new units of housing are involved, are among the unknowns. The issues in Pleasure Point mirror much of the housing-related controversies now happening in downtown Santa Cruz, along the city’s corridors, in Soquel, and soon, more widely across the entire county.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The ‘wounded healer’ who is helping Santa Cruz County through a time of mental health crisis
Xaloc Cabanes has survived a lot — and applied it, heading Santa Cruz County’s mental health advisory board. His “lived experience” leads the way as society deals with numerous challenges, old and new.
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The “rent or buy” dilemma: Exploring the monetary benefits of homeownership
Searching the internet for whether homeownership is actually valuable will leave your head in a daze. Major players in the real estate investing space will argue that you shouldn’t own a primary home, while others will argue that you shouldn’t take on any debt, and many more will encourage you to accumulate as much real […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘This is gonna mess me up’: Bobby Gray knows better than most how trauma can manifest years later
When traumatic events don’t receive some level of post-processing, they linger there until the day they don’t. For the Felton Fire chief who had lost his father, slain sheriff’s officer Michael Gray, back in 1983, the events of June 6, 2020, brought Bobby Gray “full circle.” As Steven Carrillo carried out the cop-killing rampage that left Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller dead and Alex Spencer severely injured, it became a catalyst for catharsis, pain and healing.