Greetings! It is Tuesday, Aug. 26, and Santa Cruz County has another mostly sunny day on tap, with a typical summery temperature range from upper 80s in mountain communities to 60s by the bay.
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Monday saw the beginning of a clearing of homeless encampments along the Pajaro River levee, with Max Chun and Kevin Painchaud reporting. Some of those hired to do the work are unhoused themselves. “I’m doing something that I wish I wouldn’t have to do,” said one. “But I’m doing it because I need the money.”
Tania Ortiz has the story of a Watsonville activist who next week is set to begin a hunger strike to draw attention to the use of pesticides near schools around the Pajaro Valley. “It’s my mission is to go to the students, educate them, empower them, inspire them to rise and make the changes,” Omar Dieguez, a youth mentor for local service organization Barrios Unidos, said of the 30-day strike.
Santa Cruz Shakespeare‘s summer season is still in full swing, but the theater company is already looking ahead to 2026 – when, Wallace Baine reports, it will expand to present six full productions, including a second show in the fall.
Local biking infrastructure is again the topic in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, with Matt Machado, Santa Cruz County’s director of community development and infrastructure, writing about his own experience navigating the area by pedal power and outlining what the county is doing to make Soquel Drive safer for bikers, pedestrians and drivers.
To the headlines …
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As Pajaro levee sweep begins, homeless workers face the painful task of displacing their own
As crews began to clear the Pajaro River levee encampment on Monday, some of the workers are homeless themselves — and struggle to reconcile their need for paid work with being on the other side of sweeps in the past. Here’s more from Max Chun and Kevin Painchaud.
Watsonville activist to start monthlong hunger strike protesting pesticides on farms near schools
Watsonville activist Omar Dieguez is embarking on a 30-day hunger strike, protesting the use of pesticides on agricultural fields located near schools across the Pajaro Valley. Tania Ortiz reports.
DAILY DIGEST
I hope you’ve saved a little room in your daily news diet for what’s on the Tuesday menu from Lookout, including news, notes and recommendations from Santa Cruz County’s food & drink scene coming a bit later in the form of Lily Belli on Food. Sign up here for that and other offerings from our varied library of newsletters, plus breaking news alerts. Download the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to get our award-winning local coverage right in your pocket, and if social media is your thing, connect with Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky to stay current that way.
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Thanks for reading – have a super Tuesday.
Will McCahill