It sounds like you have a pretty solid handle on your chances at these schools, though, honestly, even Santa Cruz and UCR could go either way.
Spend lots of time on your essay, do what you can to boost your SAT.
Apply lots of places and make your decision after you’ve got your responses. Include some CSUs (SDSU and CSULB would be good) and some privates to keep your options open. You will be shocked how different things look/feel six months from now.
Your local CC will also provide a viable fallback and (probably) a smooth transfer path to a UC. Be cautioned though, transfer admission into the top UCs is just as competitive as it is for freshman.
Good luck.