Hello, everyone. It is Monday, June 17, with a sunny forecast for Santa Cruz County and temperatures in the 70s and 80s.
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Wallace J. Nichols, author of “Blue Mind,” the 2014 bestseller about the therapeutic benefits of being near large bodies of water, died last week, Wallace Baine reports. Nichols was 56; his family made the announcement but did not comment on cause of death for the North Coast resident.
Ahead of his In the Public Interest newsletter coming later Monday, Christopher Neely looks at how little public participation there has been in one of Santa Cruz’s most important civic processes: the city budget. “A lot of people feel pretty beat down,” says Councilmember Sandy Brown. “They feel their voice doesn’t matter, and it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy in many ways.”
Lily Belli has a dispatch from social media, introducing us to Santa Cruz’s biggest food influencers – accounts whose posts spotlighting favorite dishes, restaurants and things to do reach thousands of followers, sometimes with real-world effects on the bottom line.
As usual, summer means roadwork along the county’s underfunded thoroughfares, and Max Chun maps out what’s getting resurfaced and how the process works in his weekly Carmageddon feature on local traffic and transit.
The Monday headlines also include Wallace Baine on county artist of the year Tammi Brown, and you’ll find that after this look through the lens of Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud:
Photo of the day
Grand marshal Curtis Reliford led Saturday’s Juneteenth parade through downtown Santa Cruz, with the march starting at city hall and ending at Laurel Park a few blocks away. The festivities continued there, with live music, soul food, crafts and games.
Juneteenth, a federal holiday marking the end of slavery after the Civil War, is Wednesday, and celebrations continue next weekend with the fourth annual Liberation Paddle Out, hosted by Black Surf Santa Cruz, set for Saturday at Cowell Beach.
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‘Blue Mind’ environmentalist and ‘Slow Coast’ advocate Wallace J. Nichols dies at 56
Entrepreneurial scientist Wallace J. Nichols created the Blue Mind movement from his home on Santa Cruz County’s rugged North Coast. “I wish you water,” he offered the world, and gave away blue marbles to friends and fans as a keepsake as he plumbed the deep-seated human attraction to water. More here from Wallace Baine.
The reel deal: Behind the scenes with Santa Cruz’s first food influencers
Food influencers on social media apps like Instagram have been a part of the restaurant industry for at least a decade, but it’s only recently that two local food influencers have gained significant followings in Santa Cruz County. Thousands of people follow Double Meat Please and Santa Cruz Bucket List, where account holders share their favorite dishes, restaurants, food trucks and pop-ups. Business owners say these posts can translate into real sales. Lily Belli dives in.
DAILY DIGEST
And just like that, another week is off and rolling. As mentioned, Christopher Neely’s In the Public Interest is among what’s still to coming this Monday from Lookout, and you can sign up right here for that and all of our other newsletters, plus breaking news alerts via email and text. You can keep up with Lookout’s award-winning Santa Cruz County coverage on social media, too: Give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads.
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Here’s to a successful Monday reentry for all of us – you’ve got this.
Will McCahill