For the first time since the CZU Complex fire devastated Big Basin Redwoods State Park in 2020, visitors can explore a limited part of the park again starting July 22. Officials will limit the number of visitors to ensure their safety in the forest and provide a good visitor experience.
San Lorenzo Valley
Posted inK-12 Education
Santa Cruz school districts’ transitional kindergarten plans taking shape, but much still left to do
While summer is just now officially kicking off, the school year already feels around the corner for Santa Cruz County school districts preparing to add a new grade level to their campuses: transitional kindergarten for 4-year-olds. Several districts have already submitted their TK plans — to meet a June 30 deadline — to the California Department of Education.
Posted inFood & Drink
Lily Belli on Food: Trout Farm Inn resurrected, Alice Waters at UCSC and Michelin misses
Heads up, foodies: I’m now sending alerts every time I publish a story. Sign up for texts from me here. Thanks to those of you who’ve already subscribed and offered your thoughts! And catch up on my recent work here. … A couple of weeks ago, I reported that renovations at the Trout Farm Inn […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Shelter closures show new homeless response plan in midstream
Santa Cruz County-run programs at the Oceana Inn and the National Guard Armory will close their doors by the end of this month, amounting to a net loss of 252 of the county’s 638 total shelter beds. Says county Housing for Health director Robert Ratner, “We have to stop taking our money and investing it in one-time-only things; we have to corral the limited money we have invested in a strategic way.”
Posted inFood & Drink
EATERS DIGEST: Seabright Deli delights, Alderwood expands chef’s counter and Capitola Tap House opens
Suggestions for a delicious Father’s Day, a new taphouse opens in Capitola Village, Alderwood expands its chef’s counter tasting menu, a fish sandwich that ticks all the boxes at Seabright Deli and more as Lily Belli returns.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Left out to dry: Sprinkler requirements the next hurdle for beleaguered CZU rebuilders
As more families in the Santa Cruz Mountains begin the rebuilding process nearly two years after losing their homes in the CZU Lightning Complex fire, another issue has become evident: a fire sprinkler requirement, and a lack of adequate water pressure for all affected families. Some say this could hinder their ability to get home more so than before: “What can I do, just move in and face possible red-tagging?”
Posted inPolitics & Policy
When is your new library ready? A Lookout guide to the emerging branches
Four redone Santa Cruz County library branches have reopened and four more will throw open their doors by the end of the year. We check in on the generational investment of $67 million county voters made in 2016.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Meet the No Way Greenway leaders, Mark Mesiti-Miller and Melani Clark
Longtime civic leaders Mark Mesiti-Miller and Roaring Camp president Melani Clark have taken the lead in trying to defeat the controversial Measure D. Who are they, and what has led to their high-profile involvement? Just as the leaders of “Yes” say, they explain the fight has turned more vitriolic than expected.
Posted inCoast Life
Reimagining Big Basin: Following CZU fire devastation, what should the park become?
The devastating CZU Complex fire that burned 97% of Big Basin Redwoods State Park is giving way to new growth — and new plans, including tribal involvement, as the 120-year-old park comes back to life.
Posted inHousing & Development
‘Not everybody really gets to live in a beach town’: Realtors on what’s ‘getting worse’ in Santa Cruz real estate
Suddenly rising interest rates have thrown a new wrench into the plans of prospective home buyers. Can it get any worse? We asked a pair of real estate agents, veteran Kelley Trousdale and relative newcomer Rebecca Wallace.