What’s good, Lookout friends? It is Friday, May 30, shaping up to be a hot one around Santa Cruz County – approaching 100 in the mountains (which are under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and into the 80s even by the water.
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Hillary Ojeda has the story of a UC Santa Cruz graduate student from China whose student visa and work authorization were abruptly revoked last month. His status has since been restored and it’s been a costly process, but he says he’s thankful for university and union support systems.
An annual audit report on the Santa Cruz Police Department is out, and Max Chun has details; it notes successes in improving the department’s internal investigations, but says there is still room for improvement on the accountability front.
Wednesday was a shining moment for local farm-to-table evangelist Jim Denevan, Lily Belli reports, as his Outstanding in the Field moveable feast kicked off its latest season with a glittering event on the Capitola Wharf – a mile from where Denevan grew up.
As expected, Big Soda is fighting Santa Cruz’s sweetened-beverage tax, with Christopher Neely reporting on a lawsuit filed by the American Beverage Association that will put the matter of whether the tax violates state law before a judge.
Friday headlines await, but first, a downtown Santa Cruz snapshot from Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud.
Photo of the day
On Thursday at about 11:30 a.m., Phil Duran of Duran Construction was at the corner of Center and Lincoln streets in Santa Cruz waiting to pick up supplies at the nearby Boys and Girls Club. Duran said he had stopped his truck at the corner and put on his four-way flashers when he noticed a police officer eyeing his unofficial parking job. So he decided it would be best to move his vehicle into a proper parking spot directly in front of the Boys and Girls Club.
While Duran was repositioning his truck, the side of his vehicle clipped a fire hydrant. Moments later, water erupted from the hydrant in a massive geyser.
Police and firefighters arrived on the scene within 5 to 10 minutes. It took the Santa Cruz Fire Department about 15 minutes to shut off the water main supplying the hydrant.
UC Santa Cruz international student who had visa revoked was told to leave ‘ASAP’
A UC Santa Cruz graduate student from China was abruptly ordered to leave the U.S. in April after his visa and work authorization were revoked without explanation, one of hundreds of cases affecting international students nationwide. His status was restored by the end of the month, but he says the ordeal cost him thousands in lost income and legal fees. Details here from Hillary Ojeda.
Farm-to-table trailblazer Jim Denevan returns to his roots with a dinner on Capitola Wharf
On a newly rebuilt Capitola Wharf, Outstanding in the Field founder Jim Denevan kicked off the company’s 24th season with a sold-out feast for nearly 200 guests — just a mile from where he grew up. The moveable farm-to-table experience, which began humbly in Santa Cruz County in 1999, now stages more than 60 events a year across the U.S. and abroad. Lily Belli paints the picture.
DAILY DIGEST
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And that’s what I know this penultimate day of May. There’s more coming from Lookout between here and the weekend, not least the latest edition of Lily Belli’s Eaters Digest. Sign up here for that and all of Lookout’s other newsletters, plus breaking news alerts, and take our award-winning local coverage on the go by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky are where you’ll find Lookout on social media, so do give us a follow to spruce up your scroll.
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Keep it cool this Friday, and may our weekend be a safe, relaxing one.
Will McCahill