Lookout columnist Claudia Sternbach has fallen for Anderson Cooper. His podcast, anyway. On it, he unpacks his grief at the death of his famous mother, the heiress and fashion trendsetter Gloria Vanderbilt, and the suicide of his brother, Carter. Like most people in their 70s, Sternbach has lost loved ones and has become accustomed to carrying her grief with her. "The older we get, the more we lose," she writes in this latest column on aging. "And yet, as we continue on, we are expected to carry more. More memories, more grief, more tools to deal with said grief. We fill up a virtual backpack with it all and just keep walking as the load gets heavier."

Smoky winds from the wildfires in far northern California and southern Oregon are bringing smoke to the Santa Cruz area, causing unhealthy conditions for sensitive groups. The National Weather Service said the smoke could remain in the area as long as into Friday.

In her weekly roundup of news and notes from the Santa Cruz County business community, Jessica M. Pasko previews a public hearing on the move to increase what businesses pay to the Downtown Association of Santa Cruz, checks in on the mac & cheese pros at Goodles, rounds up events and more.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a policy on artificial intelligence aimed at "harnessing the potential but also recognizing some of the risks, in particular on data privacy." Big decisions will remain in human hands, a spokesperson said, but the county wanted a policy that could allow it to use AI as a tool while acknowledging its blind spots.

Santa Cruz was the first county in the U.S. to tax single-use cups. At the time, it estimated the tax would raise $700,000 a year. But staff now say the tax will likely bring in just $280,000 a year, or about 40% of originally projected revenue, in part because the county has no central way to track the number of businesses giving out disposable cups, nor how many are complying with the program.

With a big post-pandemic resurgence underway, the Downtown Association of Santa Cruz wants to hike by nearly 15% what district businesses pay to help support cleaning, safety services, the Downtown Ambassador program and more. A hearing before the city council is set for Sept. 26; if passed, the increase — the first in three decades — would go into effect in January.

Economist Richard McGahey responds to Housing for People activist Susan Monheit's Sept. 15 Lookout piece. The two have been engaged in a lively public debate about changes to downtown Santa Cruz and the usefulness of a ballot initiative on tall buildings Housing for People is trying to get on the March ballot. McGahey, whose 2023 book on inequitable cities was nominated for a National Book Award, is against the initiative. "Not only do we voters not know enough, but such voting actually is anti-democratic, favoring wealthier people and homeowners," he says.

In an exciting development, the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) has revealed its latest initiative to bolster the renowned "One Ride at a Time" campaign.

The Homelessness Response Action Plan has been the City of Santa Cruz's working policy document on homelessness since March 2022, and has guided its approach to connecting people on the street with services, shelter and permanent housing. However, the plan was largely shaped around a $14 million state grant that will run out next July, leaving funding for one of the region's more successful homelessness strategies in question just as its momentum is beginning to build.

Santa Cruz County's housing market had a slow summer, though home buyers still showed plenty of interest in more affordable South County and mountain communities. But with interest rates expected to dip by next year, some real estate agents say pandemic-era buyers might be starting to sell — and competition could heat up.

The Southern Poverty Law Center labeled Moms for Liberty an anti-government extremist group earlier this year. The group participated in a three-hour forum in Watsonville on Sunday that featured a number of speakers who attacked schools' approach to sex education — particularly LGBTQ+ and transgender topics. Its latest targets are two California Assembly bills that recently made it to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

Looking for a new gig? Here are ten roles recently posted to our Santa Cruz County Job Board. Patient Care Coordinator at Santa Cruz Pelvic Health. Physical Therapist at Precision Physical Therapy & Fitness. Health Services Operations Manager at Central California Alliance for Health. Safe Routes to School Educator &...

Lookout columnist Claudia Sternbach is amazed at her friend Nora, who at 68 took up fiddling in 2019 and recently performed in the Valley of the Moon Fiddle Extravaganza at DeLaveaga Park. Sternbach attended and was mesmerized by the range of emotions the music brought. "I had gone from foot tapping and clapping to sobbing silently, a lump in my throat the size of a boulder," she writes. "I thought of the people I miss. The people I loved." She also got a brief respite from the woes of the world. "Who knew that such a small instrument could provide such an abundance of joy?"

Two Cabrillo College trustees say they experienced incidents of harassment because of their support for changing the name of the college. Adam Spickler says he was the subject of a transphobic petition. Steve Trujillo says he has been the target of homophobic emails, and that Watsonville Police Chief Jorge Zamora told him to carry pepper spray and had officers escort him home from dinner because of a tip that someone was following him.

Make your voice heard in Lookout's Community Voices opinion forum with a letter to the editor.

Make your voice heard in Lookout's Community Voices opinion forum with a letter to the editor.

With book bans having been enacted in 37 U.S. states — the vast majority of them having to do with the lives of people of color and LGBTQ+ people — a group including educators and advocates will convene Oct. 6 at the downtown Santa Cruz public library to attempt to address the rising threat.

A video posted on social media platform TikTok earlier this week shows a woman shouting at someone as he records an interaction on Highway 1 in Capitola after the drivers pulled over to assess a minor collision. The woman shouts expletives and racist comments directed toward Mexicans as he records.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the newest COVID vaccine booster Monday, and it is expected to become available in Santa Cruz County by the end of September. The Centers for Disease Control recommends the shot for all Americans aged 6 months and older.

Santa Cruz housing activist Susan Monheit believes Santa Cruz's iconic status as a beloved beach town is endangered by planned development. Here, she responds to critiques by economist Richard McGahey, who, in a recent Lookout piece, called her advocacy and a petition by Housing for People circulating for the March 2024 ballot "misguided." Below, she unpacks what Housing for People does and does not do.