This Week on the Central Coast…
Community improvements across both counties, new Boardwalk rides, and a Championship title for Monterey High School.
Monterey
Coastal Roots Hospitality Supporting Seneca Central Coast
Coastal Roots Hospitality Group (Tarpys, Montrio Bistro, and Rio Grill) is featuring another local nonprofit. During March and April, 10% of every take out order will be donated to Seneca Central Coast.
Seneca Central Coast is a Bay Area nonprofit that provides “a broad continuum of permanency, mental health, education, and juvenile justice services”.
The group will continue to donate a portion of every take out order throughout the year, changing nonprofits every other month.
This offer only applies to take out, not delivery.
Toreadores Win Division IV State Championship
On Saturday, Monterey High School’s boys basketball team beat Chatsworth of the San Fernando Valley 74-68, winning the Division IV Championship. The Toreadores are only the second basketball team in the county’s history to win a state basketball title. The last one to do it was Palma in 1992.
The team finished the season with a 25-6 record. Monterey player Kavon Collins lead the team with 22 points. JJ Roth scored another 18 points, including five 3-pointers, tying a state Division IV record.
Monterey High School Will Start Building Stadium Lights
Monterey High School secured another win last week when the Court of Appeal dismissed a complaint against its Stadium Project lights. In the case Preserving the Peace v. Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, a Monterey County judge ruled in favor of the district. The ruling also denied the plaintiff’s request of $400k in fees and costs.
In addition to the stadium lights, the project will also add a multi-use field, a strength and conditioning center, a new press box, a new public address system, and many other repairs.
Santa Cruz
New Homeless Shelter Will Provide Health and Substance Abuse Support
A new mental health and substance abuse homeless shelter is planned to be built by the end of the year. The facility will be on Soquel Avenue across from Harbor High School and adjacent to the existing Behavioral Health Center.
The shelter is defined by the state as a “navigation center”, which means it will offer higher-quality services than a traditional homeless shelter, including the allowance of pets, partners, possessions, and privacy.
Robert Ratner, the director of Housing for Health, stressed the need for services like this, explaining that most peoples’ stay will be about six months. This gives them a chance to get some stability and plan for housing while keeping the limited beds in rotation for others in need. “We have three and a half or four unsheltered people for every shelter bed in the county.”
In a press release, Ratner summed up the intent of the new facility. “This will be the first of its kind referral-based facility in Santa Cruz County and will provide a service-rich environment with on-site interim housing so that individuals with psychiatric health and substance use disorder needs are not discharged back to the streets”.
Two New Rides Opening at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk This Year
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will get two new rides this year.
The Dream Wheel is a 65-foot Ferris wheel that will feature 15 gondolas and give riders an incredible view of the Monterey Bay, Downtown Santa Cruz, and the Santa Cruz coastline. It will mark the return of a quintessential boardwalk ride after the last wheel was removed in 2017. The boardwalk set a tentative opening date for The Dream Wheel for Spring Break in April, though an official date has not been announced.
Surge is a “unique spin on a classic thrill ride”. Early pictures of the ride indicates that it will be a spinning attraction that will seat twenty-four riders. Surge is planned to open about a month after The Dream Wheel, around Memorial Day weekend.