Quick Take:
The Santa Cruz Comedy Festival returns to Santa Cruz from Wednesday through Saturday. The festival struggled through...
Greetings, fellow humans. It’s Tuesday, Oct. 3, and it’s another nice one ahead for Santa Cruz County — copious sunshine and warming into the 70s and 80s.
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Max Chun is here with an update into the investigation in the July vandalism of the downtown Santa Cruz Black Lives Matter mural. Chief Bernie Escalante says the Santa Cruz Police Department continues to follow up leads — “It’s just taking a little bit of time to dot all of our I’s and cross all our T’s.”
Also from downtown, Lily Belli reports that Alderwood Pacific — the casual sister restaurant to fine-dining spot Alderwood Santa Cruz that opened to considerable fanfare in February — has been closed since last week “due to no agreement on the lease with the landlord,” a rep tells her. It’s unclear whether or when the restaurant will reopen.
Wallace Baine is in the house, too, previewing this week’s Santa Cruz Comedy Festival. It’s an ambitious slate for the brainchild of local stand-up impresario DNA, no stranger to what’s been a roller-coaster few years for in-person events.
And in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, local activist Woody Rehanek writes about disparities in exposure to pesticides across the state, urging readers to put pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill aimed at making the Department of Pesticide Regulation more accountable.
The Tuesday headlines also include our latest high school sports roundup; first, though, snapshots from Lookout contributor Alison Gamel.
Photos of the day
A beached baby gray whale washed up at Seacliff State Beach. It’s not the first time a dead whale has washed ashore in the Aptos area in recent years — 2020 saw a much larger adult humpback whale wash up at Rio Del Mar State Beach.
Santa Cruz police making progress in BLM mural vandalism case; repainting plans in the works
The Santa Cruz Police Department is working through evidence and leads related to the July vandalism of the downtown Black Lives Matter mural. Police chief Bernie Escalante says he hopes that the case will be resolved soon, and SC Equity Collab is beginning to look toward a repainting. Max Chun has the latest.
➤ PREVIOUSLY: SCPD releases suspect description in BLM mural vandalism; city leaders address incident
‘Temporarily closed’: Alderwood Pacific shutters suddenly
Alderwood Pacific, the sister restaurant to Michelin-mentioned Alderwood Santa Cruz, closed suddenly at the end of September after a highly anticipated opening in downtown Santa Cruz earlier this year. The reason for and length of the closure are unclear. Lily Belli reports.
➤ FROM 2022: Alderwood group Santa Cruz Sky aims to revitalize downtown Santa Cruz
Plenty to look over as Tuesday begins to take shape — but wait, there’s more on the way from Lookout! Another helping of Lily Belli on Food is among what we’ve still got in the oven, and you can get that delivered right to you in newsletter form by signing up right here. That link will also get you all of Lookout’s other newsletters, to say nothing of breaking news alerts via email and text. You can also keep up with all the Santa Cruz County news and views from Lookout by connecting with us via social media — find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads.
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Tuesday is an open book — make it a choose your own adventure.
Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz