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First atmospheric river of the rainy season heading to Santa Cruz this week
This winter's first atmospheric river will be generally mild, with about 2 inches of rainfall forecast for lower elevation areas of Santa Cruz County and up to 4 inches in the mountains. What's more, this atmospheric river will be quite different from last winter's intense storms, as it is not of tropical origin, meaning there will be less wind across the region.
My husband is retiring: What will it do to our marriage when he realizes I eat cookies for breakfast?
Lookout columnist Claudia Sternbach is undergoing a life change: Her husband is retiring after 40 years at a tractor dealership. She works from home and is uncertain what it will mean to share the space all day. "First thing on my worry list is that he will judge me," she writes. He'll also find out she sometimes sleeps until 10 a.m. and eats Tate's chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.
The Shapers: Ceil Cirillo's get-it-done talents and people skills helped form much of the post-earthquake Santa Cruz we know today
In the debut of Lookout's series The Shapers, profiles of the people who have shaped and continue to shape Santa Cruz County's unique culture and spirit, Wallace Baine focuses on Ceil Cirillo, who not only was a driving force behind rebuilding downtown Santa Cruz but also threw her weight behind the landmark Tannery Arts Center.
10 hot jobs in Santa Cruz County
Looking for a new job? Here are ten roles recently posted to our Santa Cruz County Job Board. Director of Finance and Business at San Lorenzo Valley Water District. Behavioral Health Supervising Client Specialist at The County of Santa Cruz. Pest Management Coordinator at UC Santa Cruz. Arts & Culture...
Who are the 'Shapers' of life as we know it in Santa Cruz County?
Wallace Baine introduces a new Lookout series on highly influential and consequential people who have made an outsized impact in Santa Cruz County. Come back Sunday for the first installment of "The Shapers," and send us your nominees.
'It's a different world and a different political landscape here without Glen Schaller'
Longtime labor and voting champion and community activist Glen Schaller died unexpectedly last week, three days shy of his 67th birthday. Political figures throughout the region say the impact of his work is reflected every day in the lives of people and policies of Santa Cruz County.
The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter has too many pets and too little staff; we need action now
The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter population is exploding with mistreated, unwanted, abused and abandoned pets and too few staff members and volunteers to care for them, volunteers and staff write. Most of the issues, they say, stem from bad shelter management and inaction. Volunteers and staff, united here under their union, insist they are burned out and frustrated by poor leadership choices. They have created a petition to get action for themselves and the animals in their care.
A driver's guide to Santa Cruz County road delays to come
Major road work is coming in 2024, and three major east-west arteries — Murray Street, Highway 1 and Soquel Drive — will all see delays and potential closures over the next few years, which could make an already crowded commute even more time-consuming. Now, Carmageddon keeps you updated weekly on the projects that might slow your drive.
'Japanese woodblock' mural suggests waves as new Cedar Street family apartments get ready to open
Painted by noted Santa Cruz County muralist Taylor Reinhold, the artwork on the development between Cedar and Center streets gives us a sense of what downtown's new paseos might look like.
Cabrillo College governing board censures trustee Steve Trujillo after offensive social media posts
In a 6-1 vote Monday, with Steve Trujillo as the lone dissent, Cabrillo College trustees registered their disapproval of Trujillo's Facebook posts and found that the posts violated policy; Trujillo reiterated his defense that the account had been hacked. The formal censure also prohibits Trujillo from serving as an officer of the board for three years.
Can we please check our slogans and 'insist on complete respect toward both Palestinians and Jewish Israelis'?
Local teacher and self-declared lefty Michael Levy is troubled by responses he is seeing across the world and in Santa Cruz in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. On Halloween, in downtown Santa Cruz, he felt a "gut punch" when he saw one of his lefty friends joining in with a controversial Palestinian slogan. As a Jew, he felt offended and angry and wanted to "smack him." He decided to unpack his anger with research. Here, he makes a plea for others to do the same.
Sheriff Jim Hart makes decision on District 5 county supervisor race
What Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart might do was a big unknown in the race to replace the retiring Bruce McPherson in District 5, which stretches from north of the city of Santa Cruz to the Santa Clara County line. Nonprofit CEO Monica Martinez announced Oct. 30 that Hart had endorsed her candidacy, giving her a boost in a three-person field that also includes Christopher Bradford and Theresa Bond.
Against the odds, Watsonville Community Hospital survived bankruptcy. Will it survive the next few years?
While Watsonville Community Hospital recently celebrated a year since its rescue from bankruptcy, it continues to face enormous challenges. Hailed as a success story in how to save a distressed California hospital from closure, the hospital's leaders point to the changes they are making to keep the doors open. But the hospital's financial woes still loom large.
'Zoom bombing' tests the boundaries of free speech and access in local government meetings
Recent city council meetings in Capitola and Watsonville have been disrupted by remote participants using vulgar, often racist or antisemitic language. The issue has thrust local officials onto a wobbly tightrope where they will need to balance First Amendment rights with a desire to shield public meetings from hate speech.
10 hot jobs in Santa Cruz County
Looking for a new job? Here are ten roles recently posted to our Santa Cruz County Job Board. Forensic Services Supervisor at The County of Santa Cruz. Arts & Culture Community Organizer (PT) at Arts Council Santa Cruz County. Triple P Program Manager at First 5 Santa Cruz County. Insurance...
I am the first male, openly trans person elected to public office in our state; this is my coming-out story
Nov. 13-19 is national Transgender Awareness Week, and in a Community Voices opinion piece, Adam Spickler, a Cabrillo College trustee and one of only four openly transgender people to hold elected office in all of California, shares their coming-out story. Adam wishes when they were growing up in the 1980s and 1990s that they had transgender role models.
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