What’s crackin’, Lookout friends? Friday, June 5, is here and looking like another nice one around Santa Cruz County – much sunshine after that morning fog and highs from near 90 in the mountains to around 70 at our beaches.
I WANT TO … Become a Lookout member | Download the Lookout app | Browse latest news | Get other Lookout newsletters | Solve a puzzle | Find local events | Advertise
With Santa Cruz Pride festivities kicking off ahead of Sunday’s downtown parade, Caly Plowman shines a spotlight on Gail Groves and Dinah Phillips, who in 2008 became the first same-sex couple married in Santa Cruz County. They’re this year’s Pride grand marshals, along with Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, who as county clerk officiated that wedding 18 years ago.
With Watsonville High School students graduating Friday, Hillary Ojeda has the story of one inspirational senior. Chris Delgado overcame tragedy and trauma to earn a state courage award and is headed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Thursday afternoon saw the Santa Cruz County Clerk’s office add 5,310 ballots to the tally, and we’ve got updates on all the local races, with the front-runners after Tuesday night’s initial count holding onto their leads. Per the elections department, more than 37,000 ballots still need to be counted, and another update is expected Friday afternoon.
The Friday morning headlines also include your cheat sheet to eating well and going out around Santa Cruz County this weekend, but first, some upcoming Lookout happenings you might want to get into your calendar:
- Saturday, June 6: Go behind the scenes of Santa Cruz VegFest, a vegan food and cultural festival that promotes a plant-based lifestyle, at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, with Lookout food & drink correspondent Lily Belli in a members-only event. More info here.
- Wednesday, June 10: Lookout Trivia Night returns to downtown Santa Cruz, with the retired-ish Wallace Baine as emcee. It’s free at Abbott Square, but please do RSVP here.
- Thursday, June 11: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will host a business after-hours event at Lookout’s office above Pacific Avenue. Attendees will get to tour the newsroom, meet staff members and learn more about Lookout. Details and registration here.
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Sign up here to receive Morning Lookout in your inbox every weekday.
You’re missing out on full access to Lookout
As a reader of Lookout’s newsletters, you get access to a limited number of free articles per month — but there’s much more! Members of Lookout Santa Cruz get full access to every article published by our team of on-the-ground correspondents. Join now to go beyond the headlines and dive deep into Lookout’s local coverage.
Surprised, but honored: First same-sex couple to be married in Santa Cruz County returns as grand marshals for Pride
Gail Groves and Dinah Phillips, the first same-sex couple to be married in Santa Cruz County in June 2008, will lead this year’s Pride festivities alongside Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, who officiated their wedding. In being named for this honor, they bring attention to the importance of LGBTQ+ love being normalized and validated. Read more from Caly Plowman.
Watsonville High senior overcomes tragedy, earns statewide courage award
Watsonville High School senior Chris Delgado has transformed childhood trauma into success, earning a statewide courage award and a scholarship as he prepares to attend college. He’s sharing his story in hopes of encouraging other young people to speak up and persevere through adversity. Hillary Ojeda has that story.
DAILY DIGEST
Download the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to get all of our award-winning local coverage right on your smartphone, including via breaking news notifications – something you might want to take advantage of to get the latest election coverage with Friday afternoon’s vote update, for example. We also offer breaking news alerts via email and a number of other newsletters, all free – check them out and sign up here. Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Threads are where you can keep up with all things Lookout via social media.
Our content isn’t possible without community support, so if you’re not already, please consider becoming a Lookout member.
Here’s to a smooth Friday all around, and a safe, relaxing weekend beyond. And as always, thank you for reading!
Will McCahill