Good morning, readers. It’s Thursday, Sept. 12, set to be a slightly warmer day once the marine layer burns off around Santa Cruz County, with mid-80s in the mountains and mid-70s closer to the bay.
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Max Chun was in court Wednesday to hear a new allegation against Jimmy Dutra as the Watsonville city councilmember faces a civil sex-abuse lawsuit. Damacio Montoya, the 29-year-old son of former Watsonville City Manager Charles Montoya, testified that Dutra groped him at a 2018 event in the city.
Wednesday saw the cross-examination of the ex-wife of Theo Lengyel, on trial for murder in the death of Capitola resident Alice Herrmann. As Keith A. Spencer reports, some of her testimony undermined prosecutors’ accounts of Lengyel as a calculating, irredeemably violent alcoholic.
Older local residents are worried about their ability to remain in their homes amid tight finances, according to just-released preliminary results of a Santa Cruz County survey. It’s part of efforts to create a local Master Plan for Aging.
Lily Belli has word on a Santa Cruz County ordinance that could be a boon to home cooks looking for flexibility and business opportunities: A two-year pilot program for microenterprise home kitchen operations, or MEHKOs, will allow residential kitchens to be certified for limited commercial use.
Wallace Baine, whose Weekender newsletter hits inboxes later Thursday, previews a weekend Bookshop Santa Cruz appearance by Eugene Rodriguez, who went on from UC Santa Cruz to found Los Cenzontles, a prominent cultural arts center and community space designed to promote and nurture traditional Mexican arts and culture.
And in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, Santa Cruzan Jamie Barsimantov writes about his experiences biking along the San Lorenzo River levee, which he says has become so dangerous that he’s rethinking his commitment to going green. “I feel my politics changing,” he writes, “my voting preference influenced, my anger growing.”
The Thursday headlines also include photo galleries from Kevin Painchaud of a 9/11 remembrance event at Seacliff State Beach and from the first day of the Santa Cruz County Fair – keep on reading.
Son of former Watsonville city manager alleges Dutra groped him in testimony on third day of sex-abuse trial
The son of former Watsonville City Manager Charles Montoya testified that he, too, was allegedly groped by Jimmy Dutra, at an event in Watsonville in 2018. The civil sex-abuse trial of Dutra, a city councilmember running for reelection, will continue Thursday morning. Max Chun reports.
Riding my bike on the Santa Cruz levee bike path is making me change my politics – it’s too dangerous here to be green
We are building biking paths all over Santa Cruz County, but if we can’t keep what we already have safe, will that new infrastructure be underutilized? In a Community Voices opinion piece, Jamie Barsimantov shares what it’s been like to ride on the San Lorenzo River levee bike path over the past 20 years. Read his op-ed here.
DAILY DIGEST
Another busy morning, and a busy day lies ahead. That includes a Thursday staple here at Lookout, Wallace Baine’s recommendation-packed Weekender, coming in a few hours and one of the many newsletters you can sign up for here (along with breaking news alerts via email and text). Lookout is, of course, on social media, so connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads to keep up with our Santa Cruz County coverage.
And a reminder about a pair of upcoming forums Lookout is hosting featuring candidates for Santa Cruz County supervisor, part of our ongoing election coverage. Next Wednesday, Sept. 18, Christopher Neely will moderate an event at Felton Community Hall with District 5 supervisor candidates Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez, and you can reserve your spot here. On Monday, Sept. 23, District 2 supervisor candidates Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa will take to the stage at Cabrillo College; RSVP here.
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Until we meet again …
Will McCahill