🌱 Starbucks Workers File To Unionize + Strike Averted

Happy Wednesday, people of Santa Cruz! Here's everything worth knowing today in town.

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First, today's weather:

Plenty of sunshine. High: 64 Low: 41.

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Here are the top stories in Santa Cruz today:

1. Santa Cruz County courts slow to a crawl with COVID-19 surge (KSBW Monterey)
2. 'A lot of increased interest, a lot of desire': New business permit extensions aim to revitalize downtown (Lookout Santa Cruz)
3. Starbucks workers in Santa Cruz file to unionize (KSBW Monterey)
4. Western monarch butterfly numbers rebound in Santa Cruz, but below historic levels (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
5. ACLU NorCal challenges Santa Cruz RV-parking ban (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
6. Sizing Up California's New Police Reform Laws (Good Times Weekly)
7. Strike Averted as SEIU Local 521 Reaches Agreement with County (Good Times Weekly)

1. Today's Santa Cruz Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at GoodRx — the best way to save money on your prescriptions. GoodRx helps you locate the lowest prices for medications at local pharmacies, so you're not overpaying. Works for pet medications too! To see how much you can save, go to GoodRx.com.

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Today in Santa Cruz:

• Family Biking Virtual Workshop (12:00 PM)
• Board Meeting- Library - Happy Valley Elementary School District (3:30 PM)
• New Teacher Community Meeting - Harbor High School (3:45 PM)
• Story Circles - University of California Santa Cruz-Meetings & Conferences (7:00 PM)

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From my notebook:

• Santa Cruz Warriors: "#SeaDubs are in Texas! 🏀 SCW vs. Rio Grande Valley Vipers 🗓️ JAN 25 🕖 5:30 PM PT 📺 NBC Sports Bay Area / California PLUS" (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter: "Beware of Bad Dog Trainers in an Unregulated Industry! Local families still do not know what happened to their dogs Thor and Huckleberry. Humane Tip Tuesday - Looking for a dog trainer? Here are a couple of articles with tips on finding ..." (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz Warriors: "📺 NBC Sports Bay Area / California PLUS 🔗 on.nba.com/3rUHWZx" (Facebook)
• City of Santa Cruz Public Works: "To improve street safety, our Street Maintenance crews built a new fence on West Cliff Drive to keep pedestrians safely away from the eroding cliff." (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz Police: "Santa Cruz Police Department Lobby will be CLOSED on Fridays starting on January 28, 2022, until further notice. ***Call or utilize the intercom outside of the PD Lobby.*** For an emergency that affects life or property, call 9-1-1 immed..." (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz City Government: "📣City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Department and Cruzio Internet have partnered together to help support Downtown and promote local businesses. Economic Development is helping to fill empty storefronts downtown with local busines..." (Facebook)
• Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce: "⭐⭐⭐ NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT! ⭐⭐⭐ We're so pleased to welcome new 2022 member, Downtown Streets Team! Santa Cruz Downtown Streets Team (DST) creates community & space for individuals experiencing homelessness in volunteer street-beautifica..." (Facebook)
• City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation: "🩰🌟Explore creative expression and body awareness through the magic of ballet! 🩰🌟 Register now 🙌 Classes are held at the London Nelson Community Center for the following age groups: ✨3-8 year olds/ Pre-Ballet I ✨6-11 year olds/ Pre-B..." (Facebook)
• Communications | Public Relations Joyce Blaschke, Santa Cruz Police Department: "What happened to your car? "I hit a wall," said the DUI Driver of a Dodge Challenger | - On 01/24/2022, at approximately 1:57 am, Officer Shatto arrested Ryan Palmer from Salinas for DUI during a traffic stop at the intersection of River..." (Nextdoor)

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You're all caught up for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with 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.