Scotts Valley Archives

Aptos' Restaurant Malik Williams, which opened in March, closed suddenly this week.

EATERS DIGEST: Restaurant Malik Williams opens in Aptos; Scotts Valley’s Pizza Series expands to Stanford

by Lily Belli March 18, 2022November 26, 2023

The newest chef on Santa Cruz County’s fine-dining scene is also its youngest in 21-year-old Malik Williams, and Lily Belli gives you an introduction to his eponymous Aptos establishment along with other bits, bites and sips in her latest Eaters Digest.

This four-bedroom, three-bathroom Rio Del Mar condo hit the rental market in 2021 asking $30,000 a month.

Housing & Development

Book a stay at a Santa Cruz ‘super-rental’: It’s only $1,000 a night

by Grace Stetson March 14, 2022

Rents are soaring across California and the country. Here in Santa Cruz County, even the top end of the market is becoming ridiculous.

Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah.

K-12 Education

Q&A: School superintendent Faris Sabbah says parents need to stop bullying teachers over mask mandates

by Hillary Ojeda March 9, 2022

Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah says Santa Cruz County parents are bullying teachers, upsetting staff and filing claims against school districts for enforcing mask mandates. Parents have bombarded schools with hundreds of “threatening messages” and angry emails and have had heated, in-person exchanges with teachers and office staff. How tough a response are the schools mounting? Sabbah describes it in detail.

Food & Drink

EATERS DIGEST: Chicken Foot fundraises for Ukraine; Venus releases California-grown agave spirit

by Lily Belli March 4, 2022January 9, 2025

The Westside’s Venus Spirits is among the first distillers in the Golden State to use only California-grown agave, part of a move to drought-resistant agriculture, while chef Jessica Yarr is honoring her Ukrainian heritage with a series of events.

Can the unhoused population of Santa Cruz County be distributed more evenly around the area?

Coast Life

Unhoused Santa Cruz: A ‘proper place’ for the homeless? Push to spread the burden stirs NIMBY backlash

by Mark Conley February 27, 2022April 10, 2024

Neighborhoods are receiving little advance information about newly streamlined projects, as the state of California and the county of Santa Cruz move to rapidly build new housing. As Project Homekey-funded projects pop up around the county, we see pushback in Soquel, and maybe more widely. Lookout takes a closer look at the community whiplash and the likely growing pains ahead.