Ahead of a July FEMA deadline to repair the San Lorenzo River levee, the City of Santa Cruz hired contractors to pour grout in holes in the levee made by rodents. River stewards say workers mistakenly poured the grout in holes containing seedlings, destroying 150 native plants and damaging efforts to rehabilitate the area’s biodiversity. The city says it plans to revamp its bidding process for such contracts in the future, moving away from requirements to accept the lowest bidder.
Recreation & Sports
Posted inEnvironment
‘We are in a new era’: A year after reopening, how far has Big Basin come — and how far does it still need to go?
Big Basin Redwoods State Park has made big strides since its reopening a year ago, with more trails and campgrounds reopened to the public now than over the last two years. However, the park in its current state is ‘almost unrecognizable’ from its pre-2020 iteration, parks officials say, even after nearly three years of intensive restoration work. Now, California State Parks is beginning the process of studying what kinds of new permanent facilities will be built in the park, and where.
Posted inCity Life
Everything you need to know about BCycle, Santa Cruz’s spiffy new bike-sharing program
It’s been nearly a month since the latest fleet of e-bikes hit the roadways of Santa Cruz, including around UCSC. Lookout’s Wallace Baine took to the streets for a primer on what you should know about our new transportation option.
Posted inLatest News
L.A. hotel workers are back on the job, but say more strikes are to come
New Leaf Community Markets brand manager Lindsay Gizdich said the store is moving from Pacific Avenue in order to have…
Posted inLatest News
Former Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey weighs U.S. Senate bid
Former Dodgers and Padres star Steve Garvey’s celebrity could upend California’s 2024 U.S. Senate race, if he decides to jump in.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Parking battle leaves Santa Cruz County’s lone national monument gated from the public
More than six years after President Barack Obama included the Cotoni-Coast Dairies area on Santa Cruz County’s northern coast in the California Coastal National Monument, a dispute over parking has pushed the likely opening date to late 2024.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
‘They’re impacting the future of these kids’: Firing of longtime youth soccer coach leaves season in jeopardy
The Santa Cruz City Youth Soccer Club Sharks 07 team’s season is now shrouded in uncertainty. It’s been a tumultuous few weeks since the firing of its longtime coach, German Plaza. Though the club’s board of directors has announced an interim coach, many of the players have maintained that they do not want to attend the June regional tournament in Idaho without Plaza, leaving the remainder of the season in flux.
Posted inLatest News
Jim Brown, football great, actor, civil rights activist, dies
A multitalented athlete cast in the mold of the legendary Jim Thorpe, Jim Brown did so much, and so much so well that he defied labels. He died late Thursday in his Los Angeles home at age 87.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
On Scotts Valley High School’s signing day, student-athletes look forward to their next chapters
Five Scotts Valley High athletes participated in signing day Tuesday, announcing to peers where they will be continuing their sports and academic careers come fall. While change, stronger competition and new settings will mean some adjustments, the student-athletes say they are ready to take it on.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
Oakland A’s plan to buy land for new stadium in Las Vegas, move there in 2027
Three years after the NFL’s Raiders left for Sin City, the Athletics say they’re aiming buy land near the Las Vegas Strip, where they’ll build a new ballpark and move into it in 2027.