Ballots are heading out to Santa Cruz County voters this week — and Lookout’s election coverage is in full swing. From covering the Santa Cruz mayoral race to hosting and co-hosting forums across Watsonville, Capitola, or Felton, Lookout is committed to digging into the issues and questions that matter to voters. As always, Lookout election coverage is free, so we’ll be here throughout the campaign and after the votes are counted, too.
Richard Martin
Richard joins Lookout Santa Cruz with a wealth of leadership and editing experience at top newsrooms across the country. He spent the past four years helping build and lead another successful digital local news startup, The Baltimore Banner, which earned numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, during his tenure.
He sees his move to Lookout as continuing his mission to build on Lookout’s nationally recognized start, as Eugene-Springfield has launched and other Lookouts are in the offing.
Previously, he worked as an editor at the Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun, Tampa Bay Times and the Seattle Times. Coverage that he led was twice recognized as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News, first for the 2015 death of Freddie Gray and resulting citywide unrest in Baltimore, then in 2019 for coverage of the boat fire off the Santa Barbara coast that killed 34, including six from Santa Cruz County.
This marks a return to the Central Coast for Richard. Earlier in his career, he spent five years as sports editor, then city editor of The Californian in Salinas. An avid distance runner, hiker and tennis player, he looks forward to long runs up and down the Monterey Bay and hikes with his wife in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Big Sur and elsewhere. He welcomes any and all suggestions.
“I’m thrilled to be coming to Santa Cruz to continue my mission to save local news with new, innovative models like Lookout and community-centered and informed approaches to coverage,” Richard says. “My goal is to help Lookout build on its incredible, award-winning work of the past five years and become an even more vibrant and indispensable trusted source for local news and information.”
Posted inInside Lookout
Inside Lookout: What’s ahead this fall, from election coverage to a new arts correspondent
From a new arts correspondent to a newsroom gearing up for election season, there’s a lot ahead at Lookout Santa Cruz this fall. Executive Editor Richard Martin shares what’s new, what the newsroom is working on and how you can connect with the journalists behind the coverage.
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Morning Lookout: July 31, 2026
Morning Lookout Good morning, it’s Friday, July 31. Today’s forecast from the National Weather Service calls for sunny skies across the region, with coastal areas expecting highs near 82 degrees and inland mountains reaching highs in the mid-70s to upper 80s. In a follow-up to the viral Seabright Beach rescue, Caly Luna Plowman spoke with […]
Posted inLatest News
16-year-old rookie lifeguard describes moment he ran into rough surf to save drowning boy at Seabright
When a 10-year-old boy was swept off his feet by heavy crashing waves at Seabright State Beach, 16-year-old rookie lifeguard Ryder Williams sprinted into the water and held onto him until help arrived. Though a viral video of the rescue drew national praise — including a White House invite from Donald Trump — the teen said in a statement he was just doing the job he was trained to do.
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Morning Lookout: July 29, 2026
Morning Lookout Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 29, and today’s forecast calls for a morning marine layer clearing to sunshine and highs in the mid-60s to low 70s in the coastal areas, while the mountainous regions are expected to experience warmer, sunnier conditions peaking in the upper 70s to low 80s. In this week’s business […]
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Morning Lookout: July 27, 2026
Morning Lookout Good morning, it’s Monday, July 27. I hope everyone enjoyed the rush of thousands of runners descending on Santa Cruz for Sunday’s annual Wharf to Wharf Race. Today’s weather forecast calls for mostly sunny skies, a high near 76 to 78 degrees near the coast, and an overnight low around 54. From skyrocketing […]
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Morning Lookout: July 13, 2026
Morning Lookout Good morning. It’s Monday, July 13. Today in Santa Cruz County, expect mostly cloudy skies clearing gradually to partly sunny with a high of 74°F and a low of 61°F. Following Watsonville’s decision to ban camping along the city’s waterways, correspondent Tania Ortiz and photojournalist Kevin Painchaud look past the council vote to […]
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Morning Lookout: July 10, 2026
Morning Lookout Good morning! It’s Friday, July 10, and we can expect patchy morning fog in Santa Cruz County, which will clear up to yield a mostly sunny afternoon with highs expected to reach the mid-70s followed by overnight lows dropping into the lower 50s. Correspondent Max Chun reports that the housing market in Santa […]
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July 8, 2026
Morning Lookout Good morning! It’s Wednesday, July 8. If you’re waking up in Santa Cruz County, you’re in for morning patchy fog and partly cloudy skies that will gradually clear to mostly sunny conditions by the afternoon. High temperatures are expected to reach the upper 60s to lower 70s near the coast, and climb into […]
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Morning Lookout: July 6, 2026
Morning Lookout Greetings! It is Monday, July 6, which is a big day if you’re following the world’s most popular sporting event, the FIFA World Cup. The U.S. Men’s National Team will face Belgium in a Round of 16 match at 5 p.m. in Seattle, Washington. Did you know that Santa Cruz County ranks among […]
