Hello hello. It’s Tuesday, Sept. 10, and the forecast sees the marine layer lingering for much of the day around Santa Cruz County, with highs in the upper 60s by the bay and low 80s in the mountains.
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Max Chun was on hand as the civil sex-abuse trial involving Watsonville City Councilmember Jimmy Dutra began in a Santa Cruz courtroom Monday, with Dutra and the mother of plaintiff Stephen Siefke taking the witness stand. Dutra again denied the allegations and said an inheritance dispute with his late father’s partner was behind them.
Two UC Santa Cruz students and a professor are suing the university, Hillary Ojeda reports, over two-week campus bans they received in the wake of pro-Palestine protests in May. The goal, one attorney says, is to stop the school from using such bans.
Christopher Neely digs into Measure Z, Santa Cruz’s proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, with city officials predicting the powerful soda industry could pour millions into defeating the November ballot measure. That’s just part of Lookout’s ongoing election coverage, which also includes a pair of candidate forums Christopher will be moderating: Voters can hear from District 5 county supervisor candidates Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez next Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Felton Community Hall – reserve your spot here – and from District 2 supervisor candidates Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa in an event Monday, Sept. 23, at Cabrillo College, which you can RSVP for here.
Santa Cruz County mental health liaison Keli Benko writes an op-ed for Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, describing what she sees as “the working conditions and burnout faced by our community’s front-line mental health clinicians at the hands of county leadership.”
And with the Santa Cruz County Fair opening Wednesday, Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud goes behind the scenes to document the preparations – all those headlines are straight ahead.
Jimmy Dutra takes stand to deny sex-abuse allegations in first day of trial
Monday saw opening statements and the first witnesses in the civil sex-abuse court case against Watsonville City Councilmember Jimmy Dutra. Dutra and Kelli Siefke, mother of plaintiff Stephen Siefke, were the first two witnesses called to the stand. The trial is expected to take a week, with full days of hearings throughout. Here’s what Max Chun heard and saw on Day 1.
Gaza protesters sue UC Santa Cruz over ban from campus
Two UC Santa Cruz students and a professor who were issued two-week campus bans without a hearing after participating in a May protest over Israel’s war in Gaza are suing university administrators. They’re asking a judge to halt the practice. Hillary Ojeda has more.
DAILY DIGEST
This being Tuesday, we’re cooking up a full menu here at Lookout, and that includes this week’s serving of Lily Belli on Food, one of the many newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for by clicking here. Lookout is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads for you social media mavens, so give us a follow there and you won’t miss any of our Santa Cruz County coverage.
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Have a super Tuesday!
Will McCahill