Hector Borjas had “zero experience” with the homeless population when he began as a supervisor at the Santa Cruz Veterans Hall in August 2020. Yet over the course of a year at the emergency shelter, the 30-year-old UCSC graduate found commonalities with the residents from his own childhood, and was able to connect with residents for guidance and assistance.
Coast Life
Posted inCoast Life
Unsung Santa Cruz: ‘They needed a community,’ and she was the one to keep them together
Through the pandemic and the CZU fire, yoga studio owner Juko Holiday prioritized her clients through the community and safe space she cultivated at Ease Mountain Yoga in Ben Lomond. Holiday lost her two tiny homes in the blaze but continued to offer free meditation classes over Zoom from a hotel lobby to help heal her community.
Posted inCoast Life
Unsung Santa Cruz: Bringing smiles to the faces of isolated, vulnerable seniors has done the same for him
Kris MacKellar has done all kinds of jobs in his lifetime, but none more fulfilling than driving his aging Ford pickup around the hills of Santa Cruz County during the pandemic, bringing food and kindness to seniors and people with disabilities.
Posted inCoast Life
Oil sheen confirmed off Huntington Beach as charges are filed in earlier spill
The sheen, which was first reported about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, is roughly the size of a football field. Its source has not been confirmed.
Posted inCoast Life
Unsung Santa Cruz: Cafeteria assistants Pablita and Maria bring a feeling of familia to Amesti Elementary
At Amesti Elementary School in Watsonville, the calming and energetic presence of Pablita Lazo and Maria Rodriguez has served everyone well, especially during the pandemic.
Posted inCoast Life
Assessing the impacts of Monday’s storm, prepping for more next week
Monday’s storm affected Santa Cruz residents in different ways, with aftershocks still being felt. Lookout checked in with various factions across the county to understand the impact and see how they were preparing for inclement weather forecast for next week — likely heaviest Monday and Tuesday.
Posted inCoast Life
Don’t mess with the women: Backlash over surf contest inequity leads to a reexamination of fairness, the law
When Santa Cruz’s only big surf industry company, O’Neill Wetsuits, put on an event in October that for the first time included females, it could’ve been a happy story of progress at last. Instead it “came off wrong,” according to many who followed it closely, and the company has said very little about it. Others, though, had much to say.
