Greetings! It is Monday, Jan. 26, and sunshine is in the forecast as our dry stretch continues in Santa Cruz County, with temperatures heading into the 60s.
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As immigration enforcement continues to escalate around the U.S. and in California, an increasing number of volunteers are joining grassroots organization Your Allied Rapid Response to become legal observers and verifiers, Tania Ortiz reports. “I think it’s fair to say that people are very concerned about what’s happening around the country and want to be supportive,” one YARR volunteer told her.
The killing of Alex Pretti on Saturday in Minneapolis brought hundreds to Watsonville’s downtown plaza Sunday afternoon to protest U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and Tania and Kevin Painchaud have that story. “Nobody should be murdered by ICE,” said one attendee. “I came out today because one of my fellow nurses was murdered — shot five times for trying to protect somebody.”
Max Chun has his weekly Carmageddon column, reporting that Progressive Rail, the Minnesota-based company that’s the common carrier on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line, is planning to fight a move by the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission to end that contract.
We’ve also got a pair of stories from Lily Belli. Santa Cruz-based Healthy Oceans Seafood, the parent company of Pescavore tuna jerky, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, she reports, while its co-founder remains incarcerated on charges of stalking and violating multiple protective orders. Lily also headed to Capitola Village to check out the just-opened El Toro Bravo, which is back to serving longtime favorites with a refreshed interior and sky-blue exterior just over a year after a fire shut the business down.
To the headlines …
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ICE watchdog group seeing influx of new volunteers as immigration enforcement escalates around U.S.
Immigrant advocacy group Your Allied Rapid Response is seeing an influx of new volunteers wanting to become legal observers as federal immigration officials continue to escalate their enforcement tactics. Here’s more from Tania Ortiz.
Capitola’s El Toro Bravo reopens after a yearlong rebuild
El Toro Bravo in Capitola Village reopened on Jan. 21 after a yearlong closure caused by a gas explosion and fire. With a refreshed interior and a bold new blue exterior but the same longtime menu and hospitality, the reopening of the decades-old restaurant marked a milestone for the multigenerational family behind it. Lily Belli takes us inside.
DAILY DIGEST
Plenty of news to start your Monday, and Lookout’s got more on the way. Among what’s still coming is a look at the latest in Santa Cruz County politics & policy, including what’s on the agenda for local elected officials and government bodies, in the form of In the Public Interest – one of the many free newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for here. Download the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to take us along wherever your day brings you, and you can follow along on social media, too, by following Lookout on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and/or Threads.
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Thank you for reading, and here’s to a smooth Monday.
Will McCahill