Morning Lookout: Rail trail features in supervisor race, replacing Main Jail and a filmmaker’s path

Mornin’, all. It is Monday, Sept. 25, and morning clouds around Santa Cruz County should clear out as we go along, giving us some sun and highs in the 60s and 70s.

Lots to get to around Lookout as we embark upon September’s final week; if you’d rather explore it all on your own, head this way.
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Ahead of the latest edition of his newsletter covering Santa Cruz County politics and policy, Christopher Neely has a look at the race for District 1 county supervisor — and finds that the fight over the coastal rail trail that was at the center of last year’s Measure D vote is alive and well as incumbent Manu Koenig faces challenger Lani Faulkner.

Max Chun is also in the mix, reporting that county officials are looking into a replacement for Main Jail in Santa Cruz. A new 500-bed facility could cost $200 million — money local activists say they would rather see going to support programs.

And Lookout’s How I Got My Job series continues, with Gabrielle Gillette profiling Chris McGilvray, whose company creates branded films — short documentaries designed to help market a company and its products and services through creative filmmaking.

We’ll get to the Monday headlines — which also include Wallace Baine on the Grateful Dead’s one and only Santa Cruz County concert — in a sec, but first, a weekend scene from Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud.

Photo of the day

Pro skaters took over Seacliff Skatepark in Aptos on Saturday for a display of massive aerials and grinds in front of a large crowd in honor of the 50th anniversary of Santa Cruz Skateboards and its parent company, NHS Inc.

The three-day celebration included a private screening of “Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips,” a documentary about the artist behind the iconic “Screaming Hand” and more of NHS’ classic designs. On Saturday, the company hosted two events, with professional skaters at Seacliff Skatepark and Mike Fox Skatepark in Santa Cruz. Rock band Dinosaur Jr. capped off the festivities with a live performance at the Beach Boardwalk on Saturday evening.

District 1 county supervisor race raises specter of Measure D’s battle over Coastal Rail Trail

The 2024 elections are more than a year away, but the race for District 1 Santa Cruz County supervisor is already heating up. Incumbent Manu Koenig and challenger Lani Faulkner both accuse the other of being single-issue candidates. That single issue? The long-envisioned coastal passenger rail line connecting Davenport and Watsonville, known as the Coastal Rail Trail project. Christopher Neely scopes it out.

➤ IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: Sign up here for Christopher’s newsletter, coming later Monday

Santa Cruz County officials begin studying replacement for Main Jail

Santa Cruz County leaders are starting to study a potential new jail because of the current facility’s poor and cramped conditions. A new 500-bed facility is expected to cost around $200 million and take as long as eight years to build. Local activists and restorative-justice advocates say that they’d rather see that money invested in housing support and social services to help keep people out of jail. Read more from Max Chun.

➤ MORE: Commission urges improvements to conditions at Santa Cruz County women’s jail

And that’s what I know this as a new week dawns. As ever, there’s more coming from Lookout — not only will later Monday bring In the Public Interest, Christopher Neely’s newsletter covering Santa Cruz County politics and policy, but also our latest high school sports roundup. Sign up here to get all of Lookout’s other newsletters, plus breaking news alerts via text and email, and follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads to stay current.

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Power through Monday — you’ve got this!

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz