Lookout Santa Cruz

The UC Santa Cruz community is celebrating 2,921 undergraduates and 350 graduate students who are set to walk the stage during commencement ceremonies Friday through Sunday. 

The school’s commencement is organized into individual ceremonies for each of its 10 residential colleges, a graduate division ceremony, and two celebrations: the Baskin School of Engineering and Chicane Latiné Year-End Celebration. 

The majority of the ceremonies last 90 minutes, while the Baskin celebration and the ceremonies that host two residential colleges will last 120 minutes. UCSC officials request that guests and graduates arrive at the campus an hour before the start of their ceremony. The processional walk starts 15 minutes before the ceremony start time. 

Commencement parking will be at the East Remote Parking – Lot 104 – and permits obtained beforehand are required to park. Graduating students will check in inside the gates of the East Athletics and Recreational Facility, adjacent to the Upper East Field. Guests can check in at the venue’s main entrance on the Upper East Field. 

UCSC officials prohibit a range of items including but not limited to weapons of any kind, signs and banners, large flags, noisemakers and alcohol. 

Santa Cruz Metro buses will be providing fare-free travel from downtown Santa Cruz to campus for the commencement weekend on routes 11, 18, 19, and 20. 

For information on Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant access, click on this fact sheet. 

The school advised the campus community to expect traffic delays on campus Friday through Sunday during the commencement ceremonies and encouraged staff to work from home when possible. 

Graduation ceremony schedule at Upper East Field Friday, June 12

9 a.m. – Stevenson
1 p.m. – Cowell
5 p.m. – Crown & Merrill

Saturday, June 13

9 a.m. – Porter
1 p.m. – Kresge
5 p.m. – College Nine & John R. Lewis 

Sunday, June 14

9 a.m. – Oakes
1 p.m. – Rachel Carson
5 p.m. – Chicane Latiné Year-End Celebration

Monday, June 15

9 a.m. – Graduate Division
1 p.m. – Baskin School of Engineering Celebration

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for its newsletters

For the first time since California insurance commissioner became an elected position, two Democrats will vie for the job in November.

The top two vote-getters in the June primary were former San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Jane Kim and state Sen. Ben Allen, who received about 27% and 20% of the vote, respectively. One of them will succeed Ricardo Lara, the former Democratic lawmaker who has served two terms as insurance commissioner. Lara has presided over the Insurance Department in the past eight years, during which the state saw its deadliest and most devastating fires. 

Kim or Allen will be taking on complicated, enormous challenges that have implications for local communities, people’s ability to buy homes and start businesses, and the state’s economy. 

In the past few years, insurance companies stopped writing new policies or renewing old ones, especially in high-risk areas, citing increasing wildfire risk from climate change and inflation that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. This caused homeowners to turn to the last-resort FAIR Plan, which is mandated by law to provide fire insurance. The plan, run by an alliance of insurers, has grown to more than 684,000 policies in force as of March, an increase of 152% since September 2022. It has warned about its ability to keep paying claims after major disasters.

Proposition 103, a law approved by voters in 1988, means that among many other things, the elected commissioner has the power to approve rate increases. It has kept the state’s rates from rising too much over the years — Californians’ homeowners insurance premiums have hovered around the middle of the pack nationwide — but that could change. Last year, the commissioner put in place regulations that include new factors insurers can use when setting their premiums, such as catastrophe modeling and reinsurance costs. Some companies have applied for and received approval to raise their rates, so they’re starting to write policies again.

Keeping insurance available but affordable will be the most pressing issue for either Kim or Allen, whose responsibilities will also include regulating auto, pet and some aspects of health insurance, plus workers’ compensation. 

Another problem that will need plenty of attention: making sure insurance companies pay their claims in a timely manner that helps communities to rebuild. The Los Angeles-area fires shed a light on insurer practices that delay and deny claims, as well as underinsurance and the lack of standards for smoke damage, which have held up recovery. Pending legislation — such as those authored by Allen, whose district was hit by the fires last year — and lawsuits will address some of those issues. Well-organized fire survivors who called for Lara’s resignation over his department’s response to their concerns will surely keep up the pressure on his successor.

Here’s a look at each candidate’s record and how she or he would approach the job, based on their interviews with CalMatters and what they have said publicly, including at candidate forums.

Jane Kim

Kim’s proposal to create “natural disaster insurance for all,” inspired by a program in New Zealand, has gotten a lot of attention. She plans to fund such a system with a portion of policyholder premiums that insurance companies would collect and divert to the state. The state would then guarantee fire and flood coverage, while insurance companies would continue to cover other risks.

Naysayers, including consumer advocates, wonder why she hasn’t released any specifics about how much capital such a fund would require. Kim told CalMatters that it would need to be studied, but that at its core her proposal would generate revenue. 

Opponents of her proposal also say it’s a bad idea to shift catastrophic burden onto the state, pointing to what they say is the failure of splitting off earthquake insurance from homeowner insurance — most California homeowners now have no insurance coverage.

“We [taxpayers] already are on the hook,” Kim said. “When insurers and utilities refuse to pay, they just pass it on to us anyway. Sharing the risk is important.” 

Kim also told CalMatters that an idea Merritt Farren, a Republican candidate for commissioner, proposed — that the state create a reinsurance authority to encourage insurers to write policies in the state — “may turn out to be a more efficient model.” 

Among Kim’s shorter-term priorities if she wins: 

• Create public dashboards to show how insurance companies are spending policyholder premiums, and that show their record on claims.
• Expand eligibility for a program that provides low-cost insurance to drivers who make less than $38,000 a year. 
• Tie a company’s ability to sell auto insurance in the state to its willingness to write homeowner policies.
• Make the FAIR Plan more transparent by requiring that its list of board members be public, and that its board meetings be public.
• Freeze rates when policyholders file claims.

The former San Francisco elected official, an attorney, touts among her accomplishments free community college for the city’s residents; the first $15 minimum wage ordinance in the state; and a tenant-protection ordinance to avoid unjust evictions. She worked as the California director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 U.S. presidential campaign and most recently as California Director for the Working Families Party.

Kim has a long list of endorsers, including many unions such as SEIU California. Besides Sanders, another U.S. lawmaker, Rep. Ro Khanna of Silicon Valley, has also endorsed her.

Ben Allen

The state senator, who will be termed out of the Legislature, wants to bring together the state, insurers, builders, local governments and firefighters to work on risk-reduction strategies.

“I think that’s ultimately going to be the way that we get ourselves out of this mess,” he told CalMatters.

What he calls a comprehensive approach includes thinking about where people live and build: “We shouldn’t be building new construction that is irresponsible in high-risk areas. We should be looking for ways to carefully and sensitively encourage people to pull back from high-risk areas.”

If he wins, Allen’s other plans include:

• Create a consumer advocate position within the insurance department, and increase staff to handle customer service. 
• Require insurers to explain claim denials and provide real-time reports of delays and outstanding claims after a disaster.
• Increase oversight of the FAIR Plan and make sure it complies with commissioner orders.
• Ban the insurance commissioner and staff from working for the industry immediately after they leave the department.

Allen has played up his experience as a legislator, including writing and passing bills related to holding insurance companies accountable. For example, a law he wrote now requires insurers to pay 60% of policyholders’ contents coverage without a detailed inventory, and gives consumers more time to provide that inventory. He also touts writing Proposition 4, the bond measure approved by the state’s voters in 2024 “for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention and protecting communities and natural lands from climate risks.”

Other pending bills authored by him include one that would require insurers to give homeowners 90 days’ notice before they intend not to renew their policies, along with a clear explanation. Another would penalize insurance companies that fail to correct their practices after the insurance department finds that they have violated laws and regulations.

Allen also has many endorsements, including the two leaders of the state Legislature, Senate Pro Tem Monique Limon and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both from California, unions and the Consumer Federation of California also endorse him.

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The post California insurance commissioner race is set: Jane Kim vs. Ben Allen appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Businesses operating in Santa Cruz County must register with the county clerk. Lookout Santa Cruz reviews the public filings from local businesses to report on new businesses starting in the area.

Here is what’s new in local business recently.

New businesses

• EL DORADO CREATIVE was registered at 1401 El Dorado Ave., Santa Cruz, by Jonas Davidson as an individual business on May 26.
• ELEPHANT SEAL SPORTS was registered at 1150 El Solyo Heights Dr., Felton, by Applied Emergence LLC as a limited liability company on May 26.
• HUTCH’S HOME IMPROVEMENTS was registered at 1198 Pine Flat Rd., Santa Cruz, by Joshua Matthew Hutchison as an individual business on May 26.
• SWIFT FITNESS was registered at 2351 Mission St., Santa Cruz, by SCG Fitness LLC as a limited liability company on May 26.
• BLUSH BEAUTY CO. was registered at 46 Brennan St., Watsonville, by Julie Ponce as an individual business on May 27.
• CARNE LLC, POINT BUTCHER SHOP LLC was registered at 21511 E. Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, by Carne LLC as a limited liability company on May 27.
• SCRATCH STUDIO was registered at 303 Potrero St., #02b, Santa Cruz, by Sara Josephine Czarnecki on May 27.
• 3 DOT was registered at 105 Winterwind Way, Watsonville, by Brynn Taylor Mitchell as an individual business on May 28.
• HOT ELEVATION STUDIOS was registered at 1440 41st Ave., Suite E, Capitola, by Stillhaven LLC as a limited liability company on May 28.
• SOQUEL CREEK REDWOOD was registered at 200 7th Ave., Suite 190, Santa Cruz, by Aden Dahar Cury as a general partnership on May 28.
• CESAR AUTO REPAIR was registered at 40 Linden Rd., Watsonville, by Julio Cesar Flores Sandoval as an individual business on May 28.
• RESILIENCE was registered at 67 Charles Dr., Santa Cruz, by Nathan Lindsay as an individual business on May 28.
• ReturnToMe LLC was registered at 9 Ortalon Ave., Santa Cruz, by Returntome LLC as a limited liability company on May 29.
• BIG BITE SC was registered at 119 Laguna St., Santa Cruz, by Grace Wong St. Clair as an individual business on May 29.
• PACIFIC PERFORMANCE PEPTIDES was registered at 5000 Scotts Valley Dr., #2, Scotts Valley, by Pacific Performance Holdings LLC as a limited liability company on May 29.
• TALLIE’S TAILORING, TRUE CRUZ was registered at 875 Monterey Ave., Capitola, by Tallie Adair Crawford as an individual business on May 29.
• SONS’ PIZZA CO. was registered at 1255 38th Ave., Spc. 58, Santa Cruz, by Jason Anstey as an individual business on May 29.
• PRETTY USEFUL ART was registered at 455 Hillview Dr., Felton, by Margaret Rochelle Vieira as an individual business on June 1.
• CRITICAL HIT CONSULTING, HYPERTHREAD CONSULTING was registered at 86 Montebello Dr., Watsonville, by Box To Beautiful, LLC, as a limited liability company on June 1.
• WESTMONT LIVING BUS FLEET was registered at 5630 Soquel Dr., Soquel, by Rsf Viii Soquel Opco, LLC, as a limited liability company on June 2.
• RODRIGUEZ CLINICAL CONSULTING was registered at 711 Seabright Ave., Apt. 1, Santa Cruz, by Anthony Edward Rodriguez as an individual business on June 2.
• TREJOS CARNITAS was registered at 370 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, by Trejo-Arias Cristobal as an individual business on June 2.
• CENTRAL COAST FLOORING LLC was registered at 416 Airport Blvd., Watsonville, by Central Coast Flooring LLC as a limited liability company on June 2.
• RUIZ BOOKEEPING & TAX SERVICE was registered at 105 Jefferson St., #B, Watsonville, by Sofia Samano Ruiz as an individual business on June 2.
• ARCADE FOUNDRY was registered at 339 Park Dr., Aptos, by David Pryor as an individual business on June 2.
• J.M.4U INC. was registered at 223 Morrissey Blvd., Santa Cruz, by J.M.4U Inc. as a corporation on June 3.
• LAUDEN INTEGRATIVE PHARMACY was registered at 1820-f 41st Ave., Capitola, by Lauden Pharmacy, Inc. as a corporation on June 3.
• CARNE was registered at 21511 E. Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, by Point Butcher Shop LLC as a limited liability company on June 3.
• MONARCA BEAUTY GLAM was registered at 3230 Cunnision Lane, #A, Soquel, by Catalina Vargas Valdovinos as an individual business on June 3.
• OPEN DOOR SPANISH was registered at 1730 15th Ave., Santa Cruz, by Kristen Lansdale as an individual business on June 4.
• SIDEWALK STUDIO was registered at 4637 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley, by Patricia Pollock as an individual business on June 4.
• TOM SHIELDS AQUATICS was registered at 184 Harbor Oaks Circle, Santa Cruz, by Dolphin Kick Lab LLC as a limited liability company on June 4.
• SONNE was registered at 1316 30th Ave., Santa Cruz, by Jessica Yuchin Hebestreit as an individual business on June 4.
• ANXIETY TREATMENT SERVICES was registered at 5905 Soquel Dr., Suite 400, Soquel, by Amoreena Juarez as an individual business on June 4.
• GUZMAN TAX PRO was registered at 416 Center St., Watsonville, by Luis A. Guzman as a co-partnership on June 4.
• SIGNATUREPLUS was registered at 2627 Mattison Lane, Spc. 11, Santa Cruz, by Daisy A. Montesinos as an individual business on June 5.
• PRISM N HUES was registered at 134 Blaine St., #C, Santa Cruz, by Stephanie P. Silviera Barrientos as an individual business on June 5.
• BLUE MOON ESTATE SALES SAN MATEO AND SAN JOSE was registered at 137 Margaret Dr., Boulder Creek, by Servicesmith Estate Sales as a corporation on June 5.

Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.

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The post Santa Cruz County business filings: Week of June 9 appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

The latest full closure of the Murray Street Bridge will begin Wednesday, meaning another few months of detours around the key artery over the Santa Cruz Harbor.

This closure will mirror the bridge’s previous full closure, which ran from late June 2025 until late January 2026. Once again, both lanes of the bridge will be shut down to cars, bicycles and pedestrians. The closure is expected to last through September.

Per a media release from the City of Santa Cruz, the closure is necessary for the next phase of construction on the east (Live Oak) side of the bridge, which includes pile driving and work on the foundation in order to strengthen the structure and allow it to better withstand earthquakes. The previous full closure allowed crews to install new piles and conduct similar work on the west (Seabright) end of the bridge. The work has to happen during the summer, as it is within the in-water construction period that environmental permits have specified in order to protect sensitive species and habitats.

Credit: City of Santa Cruz

Detours will be implemented throughout the full closure. Vehicles will be directed to Seabright Avenue, Soquel Avenue, Capitola Road and 7th Avenue. Cyclists will be detoured through Arana Gulch and Broadway via Seabright Avenue and 7th Avenue. Pedestrians will be detoured around the north harbor toward Eaton Street, 7th Avenue and Brommer Street. 

Although the project began only in early 2025, it had been in the works for decades. The previous full closure disrupted a major east-west thoroughfare and significantly affected the surrounding Seabright neighborhood in various ways, including traffic congestion and major losses for many of the nearby businesses from Seabright to the Santa Cruz Harbor. Once the previous full closure reopened in late January, the city attempted to allow vehicles to travel both directions with a one-way alternating traffic signal, but promptly reverted back to only eastbound traffic about a week later after both sides of the bridge saw severe gridlock that spilled into the neighborhood streets and city staff observed dangerous driving.

This time, commuters, business owners and Seabright residents can take solace in the fact that the upcoming closure is expected to be the bridge’s final long-term shutdown. There are two final full closures planned before the anticipated January 2028 completion date: one scheduled to last one week in February 2027 and another scheduled to last two weeks in December 2027.

The annual Wharf to Wharf Race will also be rerouted for the second time due to a full bridge closure. It will start on Portola Drive in Live Oak, head west toward the harbor and then turn left at the Eaton Street-Lake Avenue intersection to rejoin its usual course along East Cliff Drive toward Capitola Village. 

The project is currently still on pace to wrap up in January 2028.

Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.

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The University of California Board of Regents approved a new housing project on the west side of the UC Santa Cruz campus, endorsing a plan to significantly expand on-campus housing for upper-division students.

Heller Student Housing South is the first phase of a two-part project that will redevelop a 13-acre site that is the current location of Family Student Housing. After the new community for students with families opens in the 2026-27 academic year, the existing buildings will be removed for the new construction. Heller Student South will provide housing for nearly 1,300 upper-division undergraduate students.

The goal is to open the new housing for fall 2029, marking a significant step in the campus’s ambitious plan to increase student housing by 40 percent within the decade. 

“This project is crucial for our campus,” Chancellor Cynthia Larive said. “Support for students begins with on-campus housing and we are looking forward to being able to provide even more students with the opportunity to live and study on campus.”

UC Santa Cruz currently provides housing for 9,300 students, about 50 percent of its undergraduate community and one of the highest percentages within the UC system. With a mix of new construction and college renewal  projects, the campus is working toward adding thousands more units in the coming years. 

Heller Student Housing South will include four buildings, ranging from five to seven stories, built south of the existing pedestrian bridge at Rachel Carson College. 

(Rendering courtesy of McCarthy / WRNS Studio)

In order to support a range of student preferences, units will be available in a mix of singles, triple studios, two- and four-bedroom apartments, and co-living suites. 

Features in the first phase include a market, multi-purpose space, mailroom, and laundry facilities. The recently expanded dining hall at Rachel Carson and Oakes colleges will provide additional dining opportunities for students. 

Consistent with the university’s commitment to sustainability and other new housing on campus, Heller is expected to earn Gold Certification or higher in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™). The project is fully electric, with no fossil fuels used for space or water heating, and each building will include solar panels. The campus has designed the project to capture stormwater for non-potable uses such as toilet flushing and irrigation to reduce water consumption. 

UC Santa Cruz has plans for the second phase on the north end of the site to be advanced at a later date. The north project will provide up to 1,650 beds, giving UC Santa Cruz a combined total of 2,940 beds on the Heller site.

The post More student housing on the horizon as UC Regents approve new housing complex appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This summer, the Seabright and Santa Cruz Harbor neighborhoods are leaning into what they do best: bringing people together outdoors. From vintage markets and movie nights to a family play festival, a new lineup of community-focused events aims to turn the waterfront districts into lively gathering spaces throughout the season. Help buoy the Seabright and Santa Cruz Harbor businesses by exploring the shops and restaurants, enjoying these free events all summer long.

The Saltwater Market Brings Vintage Culture to the Beach

At the center of the summer lineup is The Saltwater Market, a curated outdoor thrift and vintage market designed to attract younger shoppers and creative audiences to the district.

The market will feature local vintage resellers, clothing vendors, artists, and makers, transforming Murray Street and the Santa Cruz Harbor into an open-air shopping experience with a distinctly coastal feel. Come take a stroll through the markets, explore the neighborhood, and spend the day moving between shops, restaurants, and vendor booths.

Two markets are currently scheduled:

• Sunday, July 12 in Seabright
• Saturday, August 15 in Santa Cruz Harbor area

Thursday Nights Become a Weekly Neighborhood Tradition

Another major piece of the summer programming is the launch of Thursday Night Family Movie Nights, a six-week outdoor film series taking place on Murray Street from July 9 through August 13. Grab your spot starting at 8pm for the 8:30pm showtimes. 

Each week, families are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets and gather outdoors for a free community movie night. Families and neighbors are encouraged to dine, grab dessert or a beverage, or shop locally before the screenings. 

The events are free to attend and centered around family-friendly programming, creating an accessible option for local residents looking for low-cost summer activities. Check out the lineup:

• July 9: The SpongeBob Movie 
• July 16: Legally Blonde  
• July 23: Minecraft Movie  
• July 30: Shrek  
• August 6: Hoppers  
• August 13: Goat  

Harbor Family Play Day Focuses on Kids and Community

Rounding out the lineup is the Santa Cruz Harbor Family Play Day, a daytime festival planned for July that will focus on hands-on activities and interactive entertainment for kids.

The event will feature simple carnival-style games, family activities, and kid-focused programming designed to create an easygoing daytime experience for local families. While details and the final July date are still being finalized, the goal of the event is to be playful neighborhood gathering centered on accessibility and community participation.

Support the Seabright and Santa Cruz Habor Businesses All Summer Long

The City of Santa Cruz recognizes that summer is an important season for Seabright and the Santa Cruz Harbor area businesses. To help mitigate impacts of the full bridge closure from June to September, the City is working to ensure the neighborhood remains a vibrant destination all summer long through events, expanded business support, and the early launch of the free summer water taxi service. 

Whether its families gathering for outdoor movies, shoppers hunting for vintage finds, or kids playing carnival games by the beach, the season’s programming is built around a simple idea: Spend your summer in Seabright and the Santa Cruz Harbor and support our local businesses during the Murray Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit project. 

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This post is updated throughout the day to reflect the latest incidents. It was last updated at 8:01 a.m.

Here’s what’s happening on Santa Cruz County roads this morning…

▼︎ new incidents

Road incidents as of 8 a.m. on June 9

• A traffic hazard was reported at Daubenbiss Avenue and Soquel Drive in Soquel at 7:01 a.m. today. Several vehicles, including a white Toyota Prius, gray Ford Escape and black Dodge Ram, were parked in a way that caused a hazard. A construction crew tried to find the owners by knocking on doors in the neighborhood. If they couldn’t find the owners, authorities planned to tow the vehicles.
   
• A person was seen pretending to jump in front of a car, causing a traffic hazard at Graham Hill Road and Tanglewood Trail north of Santa Cruz. This was reported today.
   
• A traffic hazard was reported at Capitola Road Extension and Soquel Avenue in Live Oak area at 7:56 a.m. today. An object was sticking into the road, causing drivers to move into oncoming traffic.
   
• South Highway 1 at Park Avenue in Capitola is facing closures for roadwork. The closure is expected to end on Aug. 19.
   
• Highway 9 at Cascade Avenue in Brookdale has one-way traffic due to ongoing work. This closure is expected to last until Aug. 31.
   
• There will be alternating lane closures on Highway 9 at Pool Drive in Boulder Creek because of bridge work. This is scheduled to continue until April 30, 2027.
   
• A lane on westbound Highway 152 at Clifford Drive/Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville is closed for asphalt paving. The closure is expected to last until July 3.
   
• The California Highway Patrol helped Caltrans with repaving work on eastbound Highway 152 between Green Valley Rd and Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville. The #2 lane was to be closed for maintenance from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.
   

Disclosure: Traffic incidents are partially generated by artificial intelligence. We are constantly working to improve the accuracy and quality of our AI-generated content. However, there may still be errors or inaccuracies. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

The post Tuesday morning traffic: Multiple road closures, hazards and lane blocks reported appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

A cult vampire movie filmed in Santa Cruz has become one of Broadway’s most unexpected hits. But can the spirit of Santa Carla survive the journey from Boardwalk to Broadway?

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will decide Tuesday whether to move forward with a ballot measure to make changes to an ordinance that requires voters to approve any onshore facility of over 20,000 square feet that supports offshore drilling operations.

For families in Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley, California’s pesticide air monitoring system offers the appearance of protection while leaving significant gaps in what is measured and how exposure risks are understood, writes retired nurse and healthcare activist Kathleen Kilpatrick. A single monitor is expected to represent vast agricultural regions where residents live, work and attend school near heavily sprayed fields, even though only a fraction of pesticides are tracked. She argues that the system reassures regulators more than communities, particularly as local residents face overlapping exposures from pesticides, air pollution and other environmental hazards. Real protection, she contends, requires reducing pesticide use near schools and neighborhoods — not simply expanding a monitoring network that captures only part of the problem.

Dolphins hear through their jaws and humans hear through their ears, Seymour Marine Discovery Center volunteer Cathy Novak said during a demonstration at the center’s new exhibit. 

“Do you think humans can hear through their jaws?” Novak said as she held a tuning fork and striker. “Want to see what it’s like to hear through our jaws?”

Novak then tapped the tuning fork to the striker and placed the vibrating fork on the jawbone of a curious visitor, who plugged their ears and closed their eyes as instructed, to demonstrate that humans can indeed also hear through their jaws. 

Novak and several of the center’s staff held a soft opening on Friday of the first new permanent exhibit at the center in 15 years – See More HQ. The bilingual exhibit was designed to build the center as a hub connecting local scientists, community groups and the public around coastal resilience.

With its digital focus, the exhibit presents a changing slate of local researchers and their projects and interactive games. The center will host its grand opening this weekend.

Operated by UC Santa Cruz, the marine center is a museum and education center located on the Westside at 100 McAllister Way. The new exhibit is in the first room that visitors engage with when they walk inside, and the center has three large adjacent rooms including the aquarium. The completion of the exhibit marks the first part of the center’s broader transformation. 

Seymour Marine Discovery Center Executive Director Jonathan Hicken discusses the new permanent exhibit. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Jonathan Hicken, the center’s executive director, said he’s “over the moon” to see this first part of the center’s multiyear transformation come to fruition. 

“I’m so excited. This is the first step in our transformation to be this community hub for coastal resilience,” he said. “That’s really how I see us amplifying the science and the stories and the solutions happening in Santa Cruz … I’ve dreamed of this moment for years.”

Hicken said the See More HQ exhibit cost about $500,000, and that the center’s remaining renovation projects will cost about $5 million total. The project is community-funded, and Hicken said the UC Santa Cruz Center for Coastal Climate Resilience funded half of the new permanent exhibit. He said the remaining projects will begin when they reach their fundraising goal and they don’t yet have a timeline for that. 

To celebrate the new exhibit, Seymour Center is hosting two days of activities Saturday and Sunday. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be aquarium feedings, story time and guided outdoor tours. For more information on hours and admission, visit its website. 

Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.

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A majority of teachers at Pajaro Middle School have voted that they have no confidence in Principal Nicole Killian, alleging she failed to follow safety and disciplinary protocols and calling for her resignation or removal. Pajaro Valley Unified School District said it takes all safety reports seriously and reviews concerns through established processes.

At Lookout Santa Cruz, we’ve always believed that local journalism belongs in the classroom.

Now, that belief is helping shape conversations about the future of local news across the country.

The American Press Institute recently invited me to present at its Local News Summit on Youth Trust and Civic Resilience and asked me to write an article for journalism leaders nationwide about the lessons we’ve learned through Lookout in the Classroom.

Together, those opportunities gave me the chance to share something we’ve seen firsthand in Santa Cruz County: Local journalism can help young people become informed, engaged members of their communities.

The article, “Share local news coverage with classrooms to spark civic engagement and boost fundraising efforts,” tells the story of how Lookout in the Classroom has grown from a single-school pilot into a program serving students and educators throughout Santa Cruz County.

API also included Lookout in the Classroom in a national collection of case studies spotlighting how local news organizations are building trust with young people while creating sustainable funding models.

You can read the full article here.

Critical to the ongoing success – and growth – of our student and school programs is your support. All Lookout memberships help, but our new One-for-One Membership supports them best. Sign up for one today, or upgrade to it, and you’ll be supporting this great work in the high schools and middle schools across Santa Cruz County.

Support free teacher access with your Lookout membership

You can help Lookout expand local news access for educators by joining or upgrading your membership. For every member who joins at the One-for-One level, Lookout is able to offer free access to an additional local teacher — including when members upgrade their existing membership!

Give a teacher free local news access

The article grew out of the API’s Local News Summit on Youth Trust and Civic Resilience in West Palm Beach, Florida, where about 60 local news leaders, educators, researchers and community engagement experts gathered to explore a pressing question: How can local news organizations build trust with young people and help prepare the next generation of engaged community members?

There, I talked about Lookout’s effort to connect Santa Cruz County students and teachers with trusted local journalism, media literacy resources and opportunities to tell stories of their own.

One lesson resonated throughout the conversation: Students came to trust Lookout because their teachers did first.

When we launched our pilot several years ago, we started with one school, one community sponsor and one willing teacher. We discovered that educators were eager for reliable local news they could bring into their classrooms. As teachers began using Lookout’s reporting, students engaged with stories about housing, education, local government, the environment and other issues shaping their community.

That effort has grown into Lookout in the Classroom, which now includes free educator access, classroom resources, school visits, an educator newsletter and the Student Journalism Scholarship. This year, the scholarship received more than 130 student submissions, the most in the program’s history.

Sharing this story with media leaders was a reminder that communities everywhere are grappling with the same challenges: declining trust in institutions, growing misinformation and the need to help young people feel connected to civic life.

What makes me proud is knowing that the work of local teachers, students, donors and readers is contributing to a national conversation about youth engagement and local journalism.

Many attendees were interested not only in the program itself, but also in how it has been built through partnerships with educators, community organizations, local donors and readers who believe that supporting journalism and supporting education can go hand in hand.

The summit was deeply solutions-oriented. Rather than focusing on what local news has lost, participants explored what can be built next. I left inspired by the creativity and commitment of news organizations across the country – and even more convinced that the work we’re doing together matters.

Lookout in the Classroom has always been a team effort. Correspondents, editors and staff across our newsroom have visited classrooms, mentored students, participated in workshops and helped bring local journalism directly to young people.

The program’s impact is also extending beyond Santa Cruz County. In Eugene-Springfield, hundreds of teachers have already signed up to participate in Lookout for Teachers.

Thank you to the teachers, students, donors, sponsors and readers who have helped make Lookout in the Classroom possible. The story I shared at the summit – and in the article – is ultimately your story. This recognition belongs to all of you.

Diamond Tech Lookout awards

The post Lookout in the Classroom earns national spotlight appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This post is updated throughout the day to reflect the latest incidents. It was last updated at 8:31 a.m..

Here’s what’s happening on the roads this morning…

▼︎ new incidents

Road incidents as of 8:30 a.m. on June 8

• South Highway 1 at Park Avenue in Capitola / Soquel is facing closures for roadway excavation. The closure is expected to end at 7:01 a.m. on August 19.
   
• There is one-way traffic on Highway 9 at Cascade Avenue in San Lorenzo Valley because of ongoing work. The closure is expected to end at 7:01 a.m. on August 31.
   
• There will be alternating lane closures on Highway 9 at Pool Drive in San Lorenzo Valley because of bridge work. This will continue until April 30 at 6:59 a.m.
   
• A lane on westbound SR-152 at Clifford Drive/Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville and Pajaro is closed for asphalt paving. The closure will last until July 3 at 5:59 a.m.
   
• CHP helped Caltrans with paving work and one-way traffic control on eastbound SR152 from southbound Highway 1 to Green Valley in lane 2. The work took place from 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. today near Highway 1 South and SR152 in the Watsonville and Pajaro area.
   
• A lane on Highway 17 at Beulah Park/La Madrona in the Eastside / Live Oak area is closed for utility work. The closure is expected to end at 2:59 p.m. today.
   

Disclosure: Traffic incidents are partially generated by artificial intelligence. We are constantly working to improve the accuracy and quality of our AI-generated content. However, there may still be errors or inaccuracies. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

The post Monday morning traffic: Highway 1, 9, 17, and 152 lane closures, delays appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission on Thursday will consider awarding a contract for construction management services for Segment 12 of the Coastal Rail Trail. Meanwhile, the county’s annual road work is underway, with Mid-County projects set to wrap up this week.

At Glenwood Fire Center, Cal Fire hand crews prepare for the next wildfire season in Santa Cruz County.

In a letter to the editor, a nurse expresses her worry about Watsonville Community Hospital’s future amid a dire financial situation.

This story was originally published by EdSource. Sign up for its daily newsletter.

David Boyer is stuck in a waiting game. For more than 18 months, silence from the National Institutes of Health on a crucial grant decision has thrown his research developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease into uncertain territory.

His application received a favorable impact score, the main metric used for NIH funding decisions, so the postdoctoral scholar at UCLA figured he would hear good news by spring of 2025. Instead, he has heard nothing.

Without the funding, he has less to spend on his experiments, which require thousands of dollars worth of materials, including advanced microscopes. In a worst-case scenario, it’s possible he could lose his job if the grant doesn’t come through. 

“It’s really up in the air whether I would be able to continue getting funded,” said Boyer, who is part of UCLA’s Eisenberg Lab. 

Boyer is not alone. Federal funding for scientific research, from agencies such as NIH and the National Science Foundation, has been upended under the Trump administration, with fewer grants being awarded and some existing grants being canceled altogether. Even researchers with stable funding worry that their grants could get suspended or will not be renewed. 

But now, Boyer and other researchers at California universities have some hope that they could get a reprieve — from California voters. 

The University of California is pushing to get a $12 billion state bond on the November ballot that would fund scientific research projects at California universities, research institutes and private companies. In addition to UC and California State University campuses, private universities such as Stanford and the University of Southern California would also be eligible for the bond money.

For the bond to appear on the ballot, the state Legislature first needs to approve Senate Bill 895. The bill’s sponsors include UC and UAW 4811, the union representing 48,000 academic workers at UC, including thousands of researchers.

The bill was approved last week by the Senate and now heads to the Assembly. It must be passed and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom by June 25 to make the ballot.

State Sen. Scott Wiener speaking in 2024. Credit: Fred Greaves for CalMatters

“As the federal government cuts and destroys scientific funding, as it creates long-term instability and uncertainty, as science has now become a political football in this country, let’s make sure that California retains and expands our leadership in scientific research,” state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said on the Senate floor just before the May 27 vote. Wiener is one of the authors of the bill. 

If passed and approved by voters, the measure would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research, which would award the grants using “an open, competitive, scientific peer review process,” according to the bill.

The bond would not be a cure-all for research funding if federal spending continues to dwindle. UC alone gets nearly $6 billion annually in federal support for research. 

“There is nobody else who can substitute for research funding on the scale the federal government supplies,” said Simon Atkinson, vice chancellor for research at UC Davis.

Still, Atkinson and other proponents of the bond agree that it would benefit researchers in California not to rely so much on the federal government, especially under the Trump administration, which proposed a $5 billion cut to NIH for 2027. Last week, The New York Times reported that NSF had slowed funding to Harvard and other institutions targeted by the White House, though the impact on California campuses is unclear.

Having another potential funding source would be welcome news to Ximena Anleu Gil, a plant biologist at UC Davis who researches how to breed more plants in environmentally friendly ways.

There is one year remaining on the grant that funds Gil’s position in UC Davis’ Meyers Lab. The prospect of not having the funding renewed is stressful for Gil, who is the main provider for her family, which includes her partner and 7-month-old daughter. 

“I’m very scared of what could happen. If I’m laid off, we’re screwed,” Gil said. “But having another source of potential funding, that would already feel like a big relief.”

If voters approve the bond, the legislation requires that priority be given to replacing funding slashed by the federal government. 

In California, 782 grants have been terminated by the federal government since January 2025, according to the website Grant Witness, a project tracking terminations under the Trump administration. 

Most of those grants have been restored under court orders, but dozens remain canceled, including one at UC San Francisco’s Center for AIDS Research that paid for training for undergraduate students. 

Under that grant, students from nearby Hispanic-Serving Institutions, including San Francisco State University, would spend the summer at UCSF doing HIV research. At the end of the summer, the center would hold a symposium where undergraduates present their findings.

The idea was to expose those students to the field and get them interested in HIV research, said Monica Gandhi, director of the center. 

“There are fewer and fewer people going into infectious disease research at a time when infectious diseases are all over,” Gandhi said. “It really just got them excited, and we thought it would help grow our biomedical research workforce in a really important topic.”

If California’s bond goes through, Gandhi said she expects the center would immediately apply for a grant to restart that program. 

Federal funding remains intact for the rest of the AIDS research center, which organizes all HIV research across UCSF. But it’s not clear how long that will be the case. Gandhi said the center is waiting for a formal notice from NIH to apply for a grant renewal, which she said normally would have come by now. 

“There are all these little ways they are making it harder to get funding,” she said. “Having a California-based initiative that isn’t political and will have the grants be judged on their scientific merit would be amazing. And I think it will go a long way.”

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The post University of California pushes for $12B scientific research bond to counter federal cuts appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

A half-century after Richard Hoover co-founded Santa Cruz Guitar Company, the internationally acclaimed guitar maker is celebrating its roots with a museum exhibit, concerts and a one-of-a-kind guitar crafted from Santa Cruz redwood and sycamore.

In his provocative new book, “Founding Daughter,” novelist and longtime Santa Cruz journalist Wallace Baine imagines a different Founders story for America — one shaped by a brilliant Black teenage girl in Revolution-era Philadelphia. The book came out in April and is, Baine writes, his way of coming to terms with the soaring prose Jefferson penned about equality and the bitter reality that he owned slaves. Here, Baine discusses who gets remembered, who gets erased and whether America’s 250-year-old ideals can survive their flawed origins.