In today's newscast:
More coastal erosion
The city of Santa Cruz has posted yellow development notices along parts of West Cliff Drive.
City engineer Kevin Crossley says the posted permit notices are both for some completed emergency repairs and a future road re-alignment near Lighthouse Field.
"About six hundred feet of the roadway is gonna be moved inland," he said.
That construction is planned for next year.
Erosion is natural in this area, but sea level rise and bigger storms are projected to accelerate the pace. The city recently started a Lighthouse Point hazard study to learn more about the converging sea caves and recent rock falls near the lighthouse.
Crossley says plenty of signs already warn people to stay back.
"The best thing we can do is encourage people to exercise caution and good judgment and give it space," he said.
He adds that along this section of coast, further erosion is not a question of “if” but “when.”
Source of food-borne illness still unknown
Speculation about the outbreak of a food-borne illness making people sick in dozens of states could have an impact on the Monterey Bay area’s agriculture sector.
The International Fresh Produce Association’s chief scientist, Max Teplitski, says it’s frustrating when a crop is blamed for an outbreak before any testing implicates it.
"We gotta make sure that when a product is named, there is robust data behind it," he said in a voice memo to KAZU, "not somebody's speculation or somebody's off-the-record comment."
He says cilantro producers, distributors and end-users are still recovering from rumors the herb was to blame. He fears lettuce could be next.
In 2025, Monterey County produced nearly $1.6 billion dollars of lettuce.
