Though just over 30% of evicted Benchlands residents opted for shelter at the armory, the clearing of Santa Cruz County’s largest homeless encampment is now complete, taking only seven phases instead of the anticipated nine or 10. City Homelessness Response Manager Larry Imwalle views the process as successful despite the low rate of uptake.
Max Chun
Max Chun is the general-assignment correspondent at Lookout Santa Cruz. Max’s position has pulled him in many different directions, seeing him cover development, COVID, the opioid crisis, labor, courts and much more.Having grown up on the Westside and attended Santa Cruz High School, Max earned a bachelor’s degree in politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles in 2019. While there, he discovered an unexpected but welcome passion for journalism. While in college, he worked as part of the distribution team for the Culver City-based nonprofit documentary film company Brave New Films. During and after the pandemic, he worked at Verve Coffee Roasters’ Seabright location, blessing locals and tourists alike with top-tier latte art while getting his start in a professional journalism setting with Lookout.
Max joined Lookout in its early days and became our first home-grown local reporter more than a year ago. His community connections and savvy have served us as his hometown undergoes multifaceted change.
Posted inLookout PM Archive
Lookout PM: Inmate dies at the SC County Jail, Aptos Natural Foods to close, and more election op-eds
An inmate at the Santa Cruz County Jail died at 8:16 on Tuesday morning. Sheriff’s office detectives are investigating…
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz County Jail inmate dies; investigation underway
An inmate at the Santa Cruz County Jail died at 8:16 on Tuesday morning. Sheriff’s office detectives are investigating the incident.
Posted inLatest News
Student Lookout: Halloween night, three downtown discounts and Taco Tuesday
UC Santa Cruz student body government members announced Wednesday that they had successfully recalled Student Union…
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Measure O and parking in downtown Santa Cruz: Counting the spots and the money
A 243-space parking garage is at the heart of the Measure O debate. Here we look at all the moving pieces on the lots all around downtown Santa Cruz, and the dollars-and-cents questions that surround them.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Following the money: Final campaign finance receipts provide clues to Nov. 8
The final round of fundraising and expenditure reports for Santa Cruz County candidates were due late Thursday. Lookout dug in to see what stories they told. Here’s what we found.
Posted inLatest News
Active shooter report at Santa Cruz High ‘likely a prank,’ officials say after lockdown
More than 1,100 students at Santa Cruz High School plus more at district schools around the city were locked down Thursday morning after police received a report of an active shooting on the Santa Cruz High campus. Officials later determined the report to be false and SCHS students were being bused to Depot Park to reunite with families.
Posted inLookout PM Archive
Lookout PM: SC high shooter report ‘likely a prank,’ SC City Council op-eds, and Wallace’s Weekender
More than 1,100 students at Santa Cruz High School plus more at district schools around the city were locked down…
Posted inLatest News
5.1 earthquake shakes Santa Cruz County, South Bay
Santa Cruzans felt a few seconds of shaking Tuesday morning as a 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit the Bay Area. No significant damages were reported in the immediate aftermath.
Posted inLatest News
Update: Alleged BLM mural vandals plead no contest to all charges, await sentencing
More than a year after Brandon Bochat and Hagan Warner allegedly vandalized the Black Lives Matter mural on the street in front of Santa Cruz City Hall, the men pleaded no contest to felony vandalism charges, a hate crime enhancement, and a misdemeanor reckless driving charge. They will be sentenced Nov. 18.