Lookout PM: Hanloh's delivery service collab, Watsonville to consider 'no encampment zones,' and a review of 'Escaping Queens'

Welcome to Tuesday night’s Lookout PM.

Lily Belli on Food: Hanloh delivery collab, Pleasure Point butcher moves, and summer neighborhood bounty

By Lily Belli

The latest in Santa Cruz County food & drink from Lookout correspondent Lily Belli.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Coalition launches statewide health care affordability town halls with first in Monterey County

By Lookout Santa Cruz Staff

A coalition of patient, labor, health and small business advocates have organized a statewide series of town halls focused on health care affordability, with a kickoff event in Salinas on Thursday.

Watsonville weighs ‘no encampment zones’ along sloughs, levee and downtown plaza

Watsonville City Council will decide whether to make changes to its camping ordinance, establishing “no encampment zones” in areas such the Struve Slough, the Pajaro River levee and other public spaces around the city.

Big Voices, Bigger Hearts: Joe Ortiz’s ‘Escaping Queens’ Returns with Music, Memories and Plenty of Soul

By Jana Marcus

Joe Ortiz transforms the chaos of his 1950s childhood into an exuberant musical memoir filled with unforgettable songs, powerhouse performances from Lori Rivera and Adam Saucedo, and enough heart to earn a sold-out opening-night audience’s standing ovation.

OPINION: The state budget bought time, but we must continue to protect Medi-Cal dental care

By Laura Marcus

California’s budget has delayed proposed Medi-Cal dental cuts, giving Dientes Community Dental Care and thousands of Santa Cruz County patients a critical one-year reprieve — but the threat has not disappeared, writes Laura Marcus, CEO of Dientes. If the reductions take effect next year, Dientes estimates it could lose $2 million in funding, putting jobs, clinics and care for an estimated 1,800 patients at risk. With nearly 74,000 Santa Cruz County residents relying on Medi-Cal and too few dentists accepting new Medi-Cal patients, protecting access to preventive dental care is both a public health and economic imperative, she writes.

By Hillary Ojeda

A new report from the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury says that had the county implemented a widely adopted traffic safety approach, it might have avoided some pedestrian injuries and fatalities. The grand jury recommends that the county adopt an action to implement the Vision Zero strategy to eliminate pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

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