Lily Belli heads to Capitola for an early taste of Thanksgiving, and her Friday newsletter also has food & drink event recommendations for the weekend and beyond, plus stories you might've missed.

Two people, including a California Highway Patrol officer, were treated in hospital for minor injuries after a tree fell onto their vehicles on Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains during a powerful storm that swept through the region on Thursday.

Lookout food & drink correspondent Lily Belli highlights top events happening around Santa Cruz County this weekend and into next week, plus more listings from Lookout's BOLO events calendar.

Lily Belli is cooking up her Friday newsletter, Eaters Digest, right now – click the link below to subscribe for free and get it in your inbox later today.

Three new pro-development appointees at the powerful California Coastal Commission are trying to remedy its poor reputation among housing activists and Democratic leaders.

Check out Friday headlines from Lily Belli, Hillary Ojeda, Wallace Baine, Tania Ortiz, Max Chun and more, plus Community Voices opinion from the head of nonprofit Community Bridges.

On Nov. 29 and 30, the Santa Cruz Opera Project will be hosting "Opera on Tap" at Woodhouse Blending and Brewing on the edge of downtown.

ICYMI: Dr. Nanette Mickiewicz has been CEO at Santa Cruz's Dominican Hospital since 2006. There is currently no one in line to take over, but a national search is ongoing.

FROM THURSDAY: Teachers, mental health clinicians and parents packed Watsonville’s City Council chambers Wednesday night to plead with Pajaro Valley Unified School District officials to scrap a plan to cut 160 full-time positions next month.

Federal food assistance has resumed for thousands of Santa Cruz County residents after a shutdown-related disruption in early November, with local agencies scrambling to fill gaps through pop-up food pantries and expanded food bank operations.

Encompass Community Services is scrambling to reopen Head Start, a federally funded low-income child care program, after the government shutdown and cuts to its annual budget caused the nonprofit to temporarily stop its services late last month.

OPINION: Community Bridges CEO Ray Cancino reaffirms the agency’s commitment to supporting both its employees and the communities it serves and laments that workers who published a Lookout op-ed earlier this week feel unheard.

Mickiewicz has been the hospital’s CEO since 2006. There is currently no one in line to take over, but a national search is ongoing.

Teachers, mental health clinicians and parents packed Watsonville’s City Council chambers Wednesday night to plead with Pajaro Valley Unified School District officials to scrap a plan to cut 160 full-time positions next month.

What's happening around Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment this weekend and beyond, including recommendations for things to do from Wallace Baine and Lookout's free BOLO events calendar.

With the weekend nearly here, check out Wallace Baine’s Best 9 recommendations for things to do around Santa Cruz County via Lookout’s BOLO events calendar.

An atmospheric river drenching much of California since Wednesday night had dropped several inches of rain and brought gusty winds and minor urban flooding to parts of Santa Cruz County as of Thursday afternoon.

Check out Wallace Baine's just-updated list of good stuff coming our way, clear into next summer.

The 1,710 people who use the mail room on the Coral Street campus as their permanent address will be searching for a new place to get their mail next spring as Housing Matters closes the mail room and other services in the area as part of a focus on permanent supportive housing.

The weekend is coming – get the latest from Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment plus recommendations for things to do all over from Wallace Baine and Lookout's BOLO events calendar in Wallace's Weekender newsletter, in inboxes soon. Hit the link below to subscribe for free.

Get Thursday morning news from Max Chun, Tania Ortiz, Hillary Ojeda, Ashley Palma-Jimenez and more, plus Community Voices opinion from Santa Cruz therapist Lisa Herendeen.

AT&T’s failed effort this year to retire copper landlines in parts of California seemed to have support from a diverse grassroots coalition. But many of the members had ties with the telecom giant, CalMatters found.

Make your voice heard on issues facing Santa Cruz County with a letter to the editor.

Utah tourist Danielle Staley, 35, vanished after a Nov. 6 bonfire at Rio Del Mar State Beach earlier this month. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is canvassing the area, reviewing video and urging the public to come forward with tips to help find the missing woman.

As unhoused residents and homeless service providers work to find ways to provide basic amenities after Santa Cruz nonprofit Housing Matters’ day services close at the end of March, perhaps no service is more important than the organization’s mail room.

OPINION: Therapist Lisa Herendeen believes we can all learn from the social media jabs Gavin Newsom is hurling at Donald Trump as a lesson in reclaiming power from a bully. She connects the current political dynamic to her work helping clients recognize their own power in difficult situations.

Amid a federal government shutdown that has disrupted food benefits, two local nonprofits are joining forces to help homebound seniors access both meals and grocery delivery.

An atmospheric river is set to bring heavy rain, strong winds and possible thunderstorms to Santa Cruz County and the wider Bay Area from Wednesday night through Friday. Forecasters warn of minor flooding and coastal hazards with waves up to 20 feet, and urge caution for swimmers and travelers.

Tonight's meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. in the Watsonville City Council chambers and will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

Have something to say about issues facing Santa Cruz County? Send Lookout a letter to the editor.

Wednesday morning's Lookout headlines in one convenient package, with stories from Tania Ortiz, Wallace Baine, Jessica M. Pasko, Hillary Ojeda, Lily Belli and more.

A vote by Santa Barbara County supervisors to deny Sable Offshore permits to restart production builds on a series of lawsuits and an accusation of insider trading, but the CEO wants President Donald Trump to help it overcome its setbacks.

Residents near a proposed Capitola Road apartment complex led by local developer Workbench are appealing the Santa Cruz County planning commission’s approval of the project, arguing the builder can't take advantage of state laws to override local control.

Schools across Santa Cruz County are unveiling major athletic facility upgrades — from New Brighton Middle School’s new turf field to Watsonville High’s renovated bleachers and planned new turf at Scotts Valley High — aimed at improving student safety and boosting sports participation.

In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on Paystand expanding payments to include some types of cryptocurrencies, notes the debut of the Lookout List and runs through names, numbers and dates to know around Santa Cruz County.

Capitola resident Rose Filicetti was a "force to be reckoned with" in the world of local nonprofits. The activist and volunteer community leader died Monday at the age of 73 from complications after heart surgery. A community remembers her tireless contributions.

In her Tuesday newsletter, Lily Belli notes Manresa Bread's move into a bigger space, with a bistro to come, on the Westside, previews the return of Christmas-themed pop-up Miracle to Abbott Square and begins making Thanksgiving plans.

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.

Santa Cruz County public health officials are warning families to immediately stop using ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula after it was linked to a multi-state outbreak of infant botulism, a rare but potentially fatal illness.

Hungry for Santa Cruz County food & drink news? Lily Belli's Tuesday newsletter is coming soon – subscribe for free at the link below.

Find all of Lookout's Tuesday headlines in one place, with news stories from Hillary Ojeda, Tania Ortiz, Cecilia Schutz, Ashley Palma-Jimenez and more, with Community Voices opinion from a former Housing Matters employee on the nonprofit's move to end day services for unhoused residents.

Housing Matters will be the beneficiary of a Nov. 21 tribute to Bob Dylan at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center to help raise money for the Santa Cruz nonprofit's shelters and other programs.

The Watsonville Veterans Memorial Building hosts a special food pantry every Tuesday to connect veterans who are unhoused or struggling with groceries and essential resources.

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board will discuss a proposal Wednesday to eliminate more than 160 positions — including counselors, teachers, mental health clinicians and special education staff — in an effort to address a $15.3 million budget shortfall.

Federal and out-of-state law enforcement agencies accessed databases with information collected by Capitola’s automated license plate readers on behalf of immigration officials between 2024 and early this year. Capitola’s police chief says it was a mistake.

OPINION: Housing Matters — Santa Cruz County’s largest homelessness nonprofit — plans in March to shut down its Coral Street day services, including public showers, bathrooms and a mailroom. The closure comes with no clear transition plan, writes Marsa Greenspan, a former Housing Matters employee.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office is investigating a second wave of auto and residential burglaries in the Aptos and Day Valley areas.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is still searching Danielle Staley, 35, who they say was last seen late Thursday night at Rio Del Mar State Beach and may have been a victim of foul play.

A weekly look at what's happening around Santa Cruz County politics & policy from Lookout.

Both businesses are in the early stages of permitting, but without any significant remodels planned, Ruzicka hopes to open the bakery and the restaurant in spring 2026. Manresa Bread will open first, ideally around Feb. 14, she said, and the bistro a few weeks later.