The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors returns from its extended summer break next week. Lookout Politics and Policy correspondent Christopher Neely reached out to all five county supervisors to understand what they foresee as the priority projects and policy discussions coming before the board for the remainder of 2023.
Santa Cruz
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz police investigating new damage to Black Lives Matter mural
The City of Santa Cruz received a report Saturday evening of blue paint spattered on the Black Lives Matter mural in front of City Hall. The mural was repainted just in late June.
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SCPD treating BLM mural damage as intentional vandalism; surveillance footage shows person throwing paint
Surveillance footage from Santa Cruz City Hall shows an individual throwing paint across the downtown Black Lives Matter mural Saturday, prompting police to treat the incident as intentional. Investigators are canvassing nearby businesses to gather more surveillance footage for a better picture of the scene.
Posted inFood & Drink
Five-star dive bars: Max Turigliatto is breathing new life into Santa Cruz’s watering holes
In 2019, local business owner Max Turigliatto transformed the Watering Hole, a neglected dive bar off of Mission Street in Santa Cruz, into a “five-star dive bar” for the Westside community. Now, he plans to open the Alley Oop in the former Poet & Patriot, and looks to put his stamp on downtown and a growing Cedar Street entertainment corridor.
Posted inCoast Life
Selfies by the sea: Otter 841’s popularity renews concerns about humans encroaching on marine wildlife
The growing popularity of Santa Cruz’s Otter 841 is renewing concerns about the damaging ways that humans encroach on marine life. Researchers say ocean tourism, social media and portable cameras are enticing spectators to get closer to wild animals. Some are now raising the alarm that repeated human encounters are harming the animals’ predator-avoidance instincts.
Posted inFood & Drink
Eaters Digest: Birichino’s 2022 Pétillant malvasia bianca in a can
You can count on Birichino winemakers John Locke and Alex Krause to consistently create delicious and thoughtful wines, frequently bucking convention by using lesser-known varietals from unique vineyards with big personalities. Birichino’s growing list of pétillant naturel sparkling wine now includes 2022 pétillant malvasia bianca in a 250-mL can. Lily Belli has more on that, plus local foodie events and more.
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Gophers, grout and FEMA: How a rodent-hole debacle rocked the San Lorenzo River levee
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.
Posted inFood & Drink
Santa Cruz icon Marianne’s Ice Cream opens new Westside location
Marianne’s Ice Cream on Fair Avenue in Santa Cruz is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and offers around 115 flavors of ice cream in single servings and in containers to-go from all three of brands made on site — Marianne’s, Polar Bear Ice Cream and Treat Ice Cream. The company says it is planning a grand opening for later this summer.
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California counties have some of the highest cases of Alzheimer’s disease. Here’s how Santa Cruz fares.
Santa Cruz County’s 65-84 age bracket grew by 81% between 2010 and 2020, according to Census data, and whether it’s…
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A $1.5 million surprise: Realtors find rare 1963 Ferrari at house off West Cliff Drive
When two real estate agents visited a multimillion-dollar house just off Santa Cruz’s West Cliff Drive being put up for sale by relatives of the deceased owner, they found something in the garage that was almost as valuable as the house itself: a 1963 Ferrari 250GT Lusso. A Carmel-based car broker said that only 350 of these cars were ever made and likely just half of those remain in existence. The cars can sell for upward of $1.5 million.