What’s happening, Lookout friends? It’s Tuesday, March 10, and another sunny day is in the offing for Santa Cruz County, give or take some early fog, with temps heading into the upper 60s before a warming trend kicks in for the back half of the workweek.
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With candidate filing periods over for just about all the local seats up for grabs in the June 2 primary election, Max Chun has an overview. There’s a crowded field for Santa Cruz mayor, where the candidate deadline has been extended to Wednesday, and incumbents facing challenges in two of the city’s council districts. County Supervisor Justin Cummings won’t face an opponent in his District 3 reelection bid, while District 4, centered in Watsonville, sees two challengers to incumbent Felipe Hernandez.
Hillary Ojeda sat down with Jenn Capps, who’s got plenty on her plate as she gets up to speed as Cabrillo College’s new president. Against a backdrop of budget woes, declining enrollment and concerns over racism on campus, she says getting more people into higher ed and making the process easier is the focus.
Jessica M. Pasko has the story of a Santa Cruz startup that’s helping reduce reliance on single-use plastic bottles by making it easier for consumers to refill bottles for products like shampoo, laundry detergent and hand soap. Wonderfil’s automated stations are popping up at UC Santa Cruz, Bay Area Whole Foods locations and more.
Jana Marcus is in the mix with her latest theater review, writing that while Mountain Community Theater’s production of “The Spitfire Grill” features a committed cast and a striking woodland set, the gentle musical struggles to generate dramatic momentum.
Feminism and clickbait is the topic in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, with Santa Cruz influencer Chelsey Hauge-Zavaleta writing that while she uses clickbait in her viral TikTok posts about parenting, a recent meeting of the Santa Cruz Feminist Society made her question the ethics of using clickbait hooks – even if the point is to promote feminist ideas online.
The Murray Street Bridge is reverting to eastbound-only Tuesday after a short-lived experiment with regulated two-way traffic, and you’ll find that, too, among a packed set of Tuesday headlines. Let’s go.
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Most local races set for June primary election; Santa Cruz mayoral filing period ends Wednesday
The candidate field for the June primary is nearly set, now that all filing deadlines for offices up for election have passed (except for the Santa Cruz mayor’s race, which closes on Wednesday). Max Chun explains how it’s all shaking out.
New Cabrillo College president Jenn Capps’ No. 1 goal is to increase access
Cabrillo College’s new president, Jenn Capps, says her top priority is expanding access to higher education as she begins her tenure amid declining enrollment, a budget deficit and campus concerns about racism and immigration enforcement. Here’s what she told Hillary Ojeda.
DAILY DIGEST
A busy Tuesday indeed, and with more coming, make sure you’re plugged in on all the ways to keep current with Lookout’s award-winning Santa Cruz County coverage. Among what’s on the horizon is Lily Belli on Food, an update on local culinary happenings that’s among the many free newsletters and breaking news alerts I recommend you check out and sign up for here. The Lookout Santa Cruz app, a free download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, is a great way to bring our mix of news and views along wherever your day takes you, complete with breaking news notifications, games and more. And don’t sleep on our social media accounts – follow Lookout on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and/or Threads.
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Thank you for reading, and have a super Tuesday.
Will McCahill