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Santa Cruz Dance Week Senderos
Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Weekender: Dance Week, Ripple Effect, Earth Day make for a celebratory confluence

Your cheat sheet for eating well and going out in Santa Cruz County this weekend.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Renaming Watsonville’s Cesar Chavez Middle School could cost $100,000, district says

By Hillary Ojeda

Pajaro Valley Unified School District officials say it will cost more than $100,000 to rename Cesar E. Chavez Middle School as they move forward with the process following recent sex abuse allegations against the late civil rights leader. Trustees voiced support for the change but raised concerns about the expense, the risks of naming schools after individuals and the possibility of spending funds on a campus that could later face closure.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

District 4 county supervisor candidates make case to voters during Wednesday night forum

By Tania Ortiz

In a Lookout election forum Wednesday, candidates for the District 4 Santa Cruz County supervisor seat — incumbent Felipe Hernandez and challengers Tony Nuñez and Elias Gonzales — shared their visions to improve South County and their views on hot-button issues.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Watsonville’s El Frijolito adds takeout-only taco spot near Highway 1

By Lily Belli

Watsonville mainstay El Frijolito has opened a second location, Tacos El Frijolito, offering a takeout-only menu of Mexican staples near the Highway 1 corridor. The expansion builds on the family-run restaurant’s nearly 40-year history and recent remodel of its original downtown location.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Outdoor World building razed for affordable housing project

By Max Chun

The site of the long-shuttered Outdoor World on River Street is slated to include 50 units of affordable housing plus commercial space in a six-story development.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

‘Dancing in the Streets’ kicks off Santa Cruz Dance Week on Thursday

By Kevin Painchaud

Santa Cruz is set to kick off a high-energy celebration of movement Thursday as Santa Cruz Dance Week brings back its “Dancing in the Streets” event downtown.

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Best of Santa Cruz County events, April 17-19

Here are some events you may be interested in this weekend:

Friday, Apr. 17

Saturday, Apr. 18

Sunday, Apr. 19


Max Chun is the general-assignment correspondent at Lookout Santa Cruz. Max’s position has pulled him in many different directions, seeing him cover development, COVID, the opioid crisis, labor, courts...