🌱 Potential Sales Tax Increase + Mask Mandate In Santa Cruz

Good morning, Santa Cruz! Let's get you all caught up to start this day off on an informed note. Here's everything worth knowing today in Santa Cruz.

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First, today's weather:

Mild with plenty of sunshine. High: 75 Low: 47.

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Here are the top stories today in Santa Cruz:

1. Santa Cruz to explore sales tax increase again (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
2. Santa Cruz County considers keeping mask mandate locally (KSBW Monterey)
3. Santa Cruz Public Libraries Surpass $1 Million Fundraising Goal (Good Times Weekly)
4. Scotts Valley Post Office Reopens Following Crash (Santa Cruz Patch)
5. Surf City Sandwich Delivers Delicious Twist On Lunchtime Favorites (Good Times Weekly)
6. Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter To Offer $14 Adoptions (Santa Cruz Patch)
7. Resident alerts fire station about flames across the street on Capitola Avenue546 (KION)
8. Winter Heat Wave To Hit Santa Cruz, NorCal (Santa Cruz Patch)
9. Man accused of killing Santa Cruz deputy to plead guilty in killing of federal officer (KSBW Monterey)

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Today in Santa Cruz:

• STEAM @ Home Kits: Make a Paper Circuit Valentine (1:00 PM)
• Board Meeting - Happy Valley Elementary School District (3:30 PM)
• Staff Meeting - Harbor High School (3:45 PM)
• Mid-Winter Global Gathering (Global Engagement) (6:00 PM)
• ELAC Meeting - Soquel High School (6:00 PM)
• SCCS Regular Board Meeting - Santa Cruz City Schools (6:30 PM)

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From my notebook:

• Visit Santa Cruz County: "Shark Fin Cove, this rugged, weathered beauty never gets old. 🌊🪨🌿 Photo 📷 | @sightseeing_siblings #visitsantacruz #santacruz #davenport #santacruzcounty #coastdiariesstatepark #sharkfincove #geology #geologyrocks #sharkfin #ocean #b..." (Instagram)
• Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter: "Meet our Pet of the Week, Veronica! This beautiful girl is a 2 year old German Shepherd who is looking for her forever home. She is a sweetheart and loves to play with her dog friends at the Shelter! Veronica is a star at the shelter and..." (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz SPCA: "We can't wait to introduce you to FIONA! 💗 If she looks a little rough in the skin department, it's because she is. 🤷‍♀️ Fiona was transferred to us from our friends at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter where she was found as a stra..." (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter: "We are so excited to have Areperia 831 at the Shelter on Friday from 4-6, this is going to be such a fun event! Stop by anytime between 12-6 to meet adoptable dogs and ADOPT for $14." (Facebook)
• Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks: "Here's February's lowest tides in Santa Cruz. Negative low tides offer the perfect opportunity to go tide pooling: Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1:35 pm 🌊 -.94 Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2:23 pm 🌊 -1.2 Monday, Feb. 28 at 3:07 pm 🌊 -1.3 Remember to res..." (Facebook)
• Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries: "The completely new Capitola Library opened to the public in June 2021! This beautiful, light-filled, 11,700 square-foot 21st-century library has been designed to be flexible enough to serve the changing needs of our community for decades..." (Facebook)
• City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation: "☀️Enjoying some sunshine this week? Take a break and walk through Tyrrell Park to see some early signs of Spring popping up!🌼🌺🐦 #SantaCruzParksAndRecreation #GetOutside #ParksMakeLifeBetter" (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz Warriors: "What do you think is #SeaDubs head coach Seth's favorite LL Cool J song? 🎤 Front Row || Ticketmaster" (Facebook)
• UCSC Libraries: "Here's your tip this tuesday, everybody. The Digital Scholarship Department offers all the resources you'll need to do projects and get started in the world of digital media. Don't hesitate to utilize those resources, there is a lot ther..." (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz City Government: "The Front Street/Riverfront Project will be a seven-story, mixed-use building with 175 residential units and 11,498 square feet of the ground floor and levee front commercial space. The project plan includes major mural installations on ..." (Facebook)

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Alrighty, you're all good for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Michael Wittner

About me: I am excited to be returning to Patch as a Roving Editor, a job that will allow me to find out what's going on in communities all over the country. I worked as a Patch Field Editor from April 2020 to June 2021, covering Agoura Hills, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, and Northridge-Chatsworth. Before then I was the Associate Editor of the Jewish Journal, a biweekly paper covering the Jewish community north of Boston. I grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a small, seaside town north of Boston, and graduated from Bard College in New York, and then got my masters in teaching from New York University. Feel free to send any story ideas to michael.wittner@patch.com.