Hello again, friends and neighbors. It is Monday, June 23, and after the morning fog blanket, a mostly sunny day lies ahead around Santa Cruz County, with high temperatures ranging from the mid-60s to mid-80s.
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A visit or two to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is a common item on the summer menu here for residents and visitors alike, but it’s not your grandma’s food scene anymore, Lily Belli reports. Read along for both her story on how quesabirria and tikka masala have become part of Boardwalk dining and for her guide to the wealth of new food items at the seaside amusement park.
As conflict escalates in the Middle East, Hillary Ojeda talked to Iranian immigrants in Santa Cruz County, who say they are gripped by fear and worry for loved ones left behind.
Max Chun’s weekly traffic-and-transit-focused Carmageddon has the latest on the Murray Street Bridge overhaul, which this week enters a new phase as the bridge over the Santa Cruz Harbor shuts down fully for what’s expected to be seven months.
Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud has a preview of a new photo exhibit he’s helped organize exploring Santa Cruz’s Black Lives Matter movement. That opens June 30 at the London Nelson Community Center.
You’ll also find community members’ memories of and tributes to the late Mike Rotkin among the Monday headlines below – onward.
Beyond corn dogs and funnel cakes: Inside the food revolution at the Boardwalk
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is ushering in a new era of dining, blending its nostalgic staples like corn dogs and funnel cakes with fresh, made-to-order offerings like tikka masala, Nashville hot chicken and quesabirria. Lily Belli has the story.
➤ BUTTER CHICKEN TO BRISKET: A guide to the Boardwalk’s surprising new food scene
‘All my dreams shattered’: Santa Cruz Iranians gripped by fear for family members abroad as conflict escalates
As tensions among Iran, Israel and the United States erupt, Iranian immigrants in Santa Cruz — many with deep family ties still in Iran — are experiencing fear, grief and helplessness. For Asal and her mother, Maryam, their long-awaited family reunion has been overshadowed by missile strikes and her father’s delayed migration to the U.S. Hillary Ojeda reports.
DAILY DIGEST
A full slate for a Monday morning, and rest assured, more is on the way from Lookout. That includes In the Public Interest, Christopher Neely’s weekly dispatch from the public square of Santa Cruz County politics & policy. That’s among the many newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for here, and take our award-winning coverage right along with you throughout the week by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. If your daily internet diet takes you to social media, you can find Lookout there, too – give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky.
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Thank you for reading, and may your Monday be a smooth one.
Will McCahill