The organization on the front lines of mental health awareness, advocacy and education has been around for four decades, but the work has ratcheted up exponentially in recent years. Many of those helping shed the stigma are among those whose lives were suddenly upended by the tragic consequences of unchecked mental health conditions.
Mark Conley
Follow Mark Conley on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Mark joins Lookout after 14 years at the Mercury News and Bay Area News Group, where he served as Deputy Sports Editor on a staff that covered three World Series, three Super Bowls, five NBA Finals, a Stanley Cup Final, six Olympic Games and three U.S. Opens over that span. He led enterprise coverage and special projects, and guided the Merc’s premium NFL and MLB magazines to five straight years of top APSE honors.Mark chaired a digital innovation committee and partook in the Table Stakes program that led to the newsroom’s establishment of a digital subscription team and a product development approach to coverage. He helped build brands around Pac-12 and high schools coverage via robust newsletters, social engagement, promotional deals and targeted audience content. Both coverage areas became top digital subscription drivers in the sports department — and the newsroom as a whole.Mark has lived in Santa Cruz County — Westside, Eastside, Midtown and now Capitola — for more than 20 years and has a passion for seeing journalism restored in the place he lives and loves.“This county is such a special place, and it’s as much about the people who choose to live here as the magical geography,” he says. “I’m looking forward to helping tell the stories of Santa Cruz County.”
Posted inScotts Valley
‘One more step toward healing’: Scotts Valley High community commemorates suicide death of Mateo Deihl
One year ago, a 15-year-old freshman who exuded universal kindness took his own life. His parents say they detailed in multiple letters to the Scotts Valley Unified School District, over many months, incidents of harassment, discrimination and bullying at the middle and high schools. Those who attended the celebration of Mateo Deihl say they’re hopeful that an increase in kindness and acceptance in a community that has struggled with those virtues will be his legacy.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Three tense years lie ahead as Watsonville residents await the Pajaro levee project’s fixes
Mark Strudley of the new Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency hasn’t been on the job for long and hasn’t even had time yet to build a staff or find an office in Watsonville. The longtime Boulder Creek resident lays out the race against time to build the levee project before the next devastating storms. There are many hurdles, including agency coordination.
Posted inLatest News
Watsonville residents near Pajaro River tributaries seek answers in aftermath of Santa Cruz County storms
Those who live in the lowest-lying areas adjacent to the Pajaro River’s tributaries knew that flooding was a possibility, but most had never seen it for themselves. When a weather system predicted to drop far less rainfall than it did arrived on New Year’s Eve, it created a perfect storm of chaos for many residents — particularly some of the area’s oldest and most vulnerable in the neighborhood known as The Villages.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘They need to know they matter’: Why a humanistic approach is core to this new homelessness group’s work
Evan Morrison’s four-month-old Santa Cruz Free Guide, which has been running the Safe RV Parking program at the Armory, has caught the attention of others who keep a close eye on homelessness response efforts. It’s why the City of Santa Cruz called on the Free Guide to pop up an emergency shelter downtown during the worst nights of winter storms. Morrison believes successful homelessness response begins with a specific mindset, grounded in empathy.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Lookout Update: Judge rules personnel files of former Cabrillo baseball coach will remain private
The documents detailing why and how Bob Kittle was terminated at Cabrillo College will not be released publicly after a judge ruled to uphold a temporary injunction filed in October. Cabrillo leadership says it has no plans to appeal and supports the judge’s decision.
Posted inEndorsements, Opinion from Community Voices
A Lookout View: President Biden, please come to Santa Cruz County and visit those who need help the most
Editorial: As the governor and the president visit storm-torn California, where they visit is a meaningful act. Beyond scenic photo ops, it’s a sign of where their attention — and funding — might go. Santa Cruz County deserves a stop — but not just in scenic Capitola.
Posted inCoast Life
Paradise with a price: John Laird’s long view of dealing with the aftermath of natural disaster
Before he was state Sen. John Laird, he was the County of Santa Cruz’s John Laird, and before that, he was Santa Cruz mayor, city councilmember and staffer John Laird. They were formative years for observing and responding to disasters. And they taught him perspective both on accepting nature’s random, inevitable penance and finding ways to make this uniquely disaster-prone county as ready as possible for the next lashing.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
From the Civic to Depot Park: How are Santa Cruz’s unhoused citizens holding up in the storms?
Helping Santa Cruz’s most vulnerable residents, those experiencing chronic homelessness, find cover from the elements has been challenging during this historic run of extreme winter weather. An emergency 24/7 shelter at the Civic Auditorium was shut down due to what the city called “inadequate resources” and what others described as a chaotic environment. Another smaller overnight shelter that launched at Depot Park is attempting to fill the void and staffed by an organization better equipped to handle the unhoused population, observers say.
Posted inCoast Life
Riders on the storm: Santa Cruz surfers’ yin-yang relationship with historic megaswell events
There is much cleanup and rebuilding to be done after the storms battering Santa Cruz County, damage that hadn’t been seen for decades. There is also an epic sandbar building up off the San Lorenzo rivermouth. It’s a complex equation for those who live their best Santa Cruz lives tapping into the ocean’s energy and often risking their own personal safety for reasons few others could understand.