Quick Take

In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against Watsonville's Graniterock, development continuing in downtown Santa Cruz and plenty more names, numbers and dates to know.

Each week, we’re taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene each Wednesday.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

Environmental groups accuse Watsonville-based Graniterock of polluting Pajaro River in violation of state and national laws

Graniterock has operated its Aromas quarry for more than a century. Credit: Graniterock

Two environmental organizations are suing a Watsonville-headquartered company for allegedly polluting the Pajaro River in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. 

In a federal lawsuit filed last week, Environment California and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance accused Graniterock of routinely polluting the Pajaro River at its A.R. Wilson Quarry, a granite mining and processing facility in Aromas. 

The groups claim that Graniterock has violated its permitted limits of discharges of “total dissolved solids, aluminum, iron and molybdenum” and is in violation of pollutant monitoring requirements. 

According to the suit, Graniterock collects stormwater and wastewater from a 483-acre portion of the quarry. During the rainy winter months, that water often “exceeds the capacity of an onsite holding pond and the pollutant laden overflow is discharged into the Pajaro.” That’s having a negative effect not just on humans in the area, but also protected species including the California red-legged frog, the suit alleges.

“Graniterock habitually violates its Clean Water Act permit, pays a trivial penalty and then continues polluting the Pajaro River as usual,” Environment California’s state director, Laura Deehan, said in a statement. “Graniterock poses a risk to some of California’s most vulnerable species when it chooses to pay to pollute instead of addressing the systemic issues causing the pollution.”

The plaintiffs are asking for a judge to find that Graniterock indeed violated the Clean Water Act and its permits, order the company to implement measures to address the environmental impacts, and to assess civil penalties.

A spokesperson for Graniterock said the company will follow the legal process for responding to the charges, but that it strongly disagrees with the allegations in the suit. 

“We spend a lot of time being good stewards of the environment,” said Shanna Crigger, director of communications for Graniterock. “We care deeply about the health of the communities and the ecosystems in which we work.”

Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry in Aromas. Credit: Graniterock

Graniterock has been mining aggregate at the Aromas quarry for 126 years. In 2021, the company began installing thousands of solar panels at the site, and those now provide roughly 65% of the energy needed to power the quarry, according to Crigger. The company also relies on other renewable energy sources, and has worked to restore native plants in the area around the quarry, in addition to other eco-friendly practices. 

Founded in 1900, Graniterock is one of the primary suppliers of aggregate, sand, concrete and other construction materials in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Area regions.

The suit is scheduled to go before a federal judge for an initial hearing on July 14, according to court records.

ICYMI: Outdoor World building razed for affordable housing project 

A bulldozer tears down the old Outdoor World building on April 14, making way for a new affordable housing project. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Last week, construction crews tore down the former Outdoor World Sporting Goods on River Street in Santa Cruz to make space for a new affordable housing project that was approved in 2024. The planned six-story development will include 50 units of affordable housing plus ground-floor commercial and retail space. Read more from Max Chun here.

The outdoor retailer shut down in 2021, after more than 50 years in business. At one time, the company operated stores in Santa Cruz, Capitola, Seaside, Pleasanton, Modesto, Felton and Gilroy. Prior to Outdoor World, the River Street location was home to an automotive repair and machine shop and, later, a beer distribution warehouse.

Ch-ch-changes

  • Children’s resale store moving downtown: Hand It Down SC, a secondhand store specializing in children’s clothing and accessories, will close its store at 3431 Portola Dr. at the end of April. The store will reopen in downtown Santa Cruz, at 119 Walnut St., on June 1, with a soft opening planned for May 30. The downtown space formerly was home to Cove Lifestyle Boutique, which moved to Capitola Village earlier this year. 
Fruition Brewing and Coffeeville are Staff of Life's immediate neighbors.
Fruition Brewing on E. Lake Avenue in Watsonville. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz
  • Watsonville brewery named “Small Brewery of the Year”: Fruition Brewing won three awards at the recent Best of Craft Beer Awards, the third-largest professional brewing competition in North America. Judges evaluated more than 1,400 entries during a three-day judging period earlier this month. Fruition received the honor of Small-sized Brewery of the Year. Its Yuzu Haze won gold in the “experimental hop-forward IPAs and other beers” category, and Watsonville Wildflower, a honey blonde, won silver for “specialty grains and fermentables.” Soquel’s Discretion Brewing picked up silver in the “German pilsner” category for its Shimmer Pils.
  • Driscoll’s appoints vice president of public affairs: Watsonville-based berry company Driscoll’s named Darci Vetter to the position of vice president of public affairs. Vetter, based in the Washington, D.C., area, will report to CEO Soren Bjorn. She brings more than two decades of experience in the government, business and nonprofit sector to her new role. Vetter previously worked with Driscoll’s as a consultant, and has served as a chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Prior to that, she was deputy undersecretary of agriculture in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
  • Independent Bookstore Day events set for Saturday: April 25 marks the 13th annual National Independent Bookstore Day, a nationwide celebration to draw visibility to small book retailers. The county’s two independent bookstores, Bookshop Santa Cruz in downtown Santa Cruz and Two Birds Books in Pleasure Point, will hold special sales, raffles, scavenger hunts and other events, including book-related trivia at Bookshop Santa Cruz.
  • Visit Santa Cruz County to host first annual tourism awards: Visit Santa Cruz County, the county’s tourism marketing organization, will honor the accomplishments of local tourism businesses on May 7. The first Santa Cruz County Tourism awards, held in conjunction with California Tourism Month, will recognize achievements in four categories: lodging property of the year, lodging leader of the year, lodging team member of the year, and hospitality professional of the year. A ceremony and luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the Hotel Paradox, 611 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta will speak at the event. Tickets for the event are available here.
  • Santa Cruz museum receives national accreditation: The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History earned accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, a national organization that represents museums, science centers and zoos around the country. It was among just three new accreditations announced this month by the organization, which was founded in 1906. An estimated 1,100 of 33,000 museums in the U.S. are accredited, including just 78 in California, and the Museum of Natural History is the first in Santa Cruz County to achieve this. Accreditation by the organization signifies a museum’s quality and credibility to other museums, to governments and the public; it’s largely held up as the gold standard for U.S. museums. Museums must submit a self-study questionnaire and other documents for evaluation, and then undergo a site visit by a two-person team of reviewers who produce a report for the accreditation commission. 
  • Anthropic co-founder and UC Santa Cruz alum named to Time’s 100 most influential people list: Daniela Amodei, co-founder of artificial intelligence company Anthropic, is among Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026. She shares the honor with her brother and co-founder, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, the company behind AI chatbot Claude. Daniela Amodei graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2009 with a humanities degree in literature. 
  • Volunteer Center launches search for new executive director: The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County has officially kicked off the search to replace longtime executive director Karen Delaney. Delaney announced earlier this year that she would retire from the organization after four decades of service. The new leader will provide strategic oversight, oversee fundraising efforts and financial management, and represent the Volunteer Center in the community, among other duties. Qualified candidates are invited to apply. The full position description and application details are here.

Got hires, promotions or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

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Looking at the numbers

  • 70%: That’s how many farmers in the U.S. say fertilizer costs are so high they won’t be able to buy the fertilizer they need this year. The American Farm Bureau Federation conducted a survey this month of more than 5,700 farmers around the country about how fertilizer prices are affecting them. In the Western U.S., 66% of farmers said they wouldn’t be able to fulfill their fertilizer needs this year. Rising costs are being blamed on the conflict in Iran and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the survey. 

Save the date 

  • Thursday, April 23: The United Way of Santa Cruz County will recognize local leaders at the annual United in Purpose Awards. The event takes place at 5 p.m. at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton. Tickets and registration here.
  • Saturday, April 25: Mission West will hold a grand opening event to celebrate its new ownership. The Westside dive bar changed hands at the start of the year. The event, scheduled for 2 to 10 p.m., includes live music, dancing and local vendors. 
  • Tuesday, April 28: The Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce will hold its next business after-hours event at Bargetto Winery, 3535 North Main St., Soquel. The event takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. More details here.
  • Thursday, April 30: The Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce is holding a mixer at Pajaro Loaves and Fishes, 150 Second St., Watsonville. The event, scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m., will include networking, refreshments and raffles.
  • Wednesday, May 6: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will host a luncheon with the county’s new executive officer, Nicole Coburn. Coburn took the reins from Carlos J. Palacios, who retired at the end of last year. Coburn will speak about county budget matters, funding opportunities for local businesses and recommendations for how to do business with the county. The event is at the Live Oak Community Center, 979 17th Ave., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration is available here.
  • Thursday, May 7: The Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold a cornhole tournament and mixer at GaryAir hangar, 50 Aviation Way, Watsonville, from 5 to 7 p.m. Details and registration are here.
  • Friday, May 8: The Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual community awards event at Bret Harte Hall at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton. The event takes place from 5 to 10 p.m. More details here.
  • Wednesday, May 13: The Santa Cruz Launchpad job and recruitment fair takes place at The Grove on 400 Beach St. in Santa Cruz from 5 to 7 p.m. Employers can register to attend and have a table by April 29. More details here.
  • Friday, May 15: The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership will hold its 2026 Regional Economic Outlook, bringing together business, government and community leaders from Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. Featured speakers include Jon Haveman, executive director of the National Economic Education Delegation, and Sylvain Leduc, an executive director with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Seaside. Registration, tickets and more details are available here.

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Jessica M. Pasko has been writing professionally for almost two decades. She cut her teeth in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in her native Albany, New York, where she covered everything...