A minivan drives past an animatronic saber-tooth tiger

LOOKOUT PM: Ukes, dinosaurs, Derby Girls & plenty more this weekend

By Mark Conley

Source: Lookout Santa Cruz

Howdy and happy Thursday evening, to you all out there in Lookout Land.

If you are invested in county governance — as we all should be, right? — then you’re gonna want to check this out on Saturday for sure...

Tonight’s headlines begin with quite the eclectic grab bag of action coming to town. So if you’re bored this weekend, that one’s on you. To those headlines ...

Uke it up, take the plunge and journey to the Jurassic

BOLO Best Bets: So, let’s see ... roller derby, ukuleles, animatronic dinosaurs, Irish stand-ups, a plunge in the ocean. Yep, just another weekend in Santa Cruz County. Sure, our latest menu of diversions might be a tad unusual. But it’s a nice indication that Santa Cruz’s offbeat personality is finally beginning to emerge again. Just imagine the delights in store for the rest of 2022. That & more from Wallace and the gang.

➤ BOLO: Your calendar of events for right now
➤ Down The Line: What’s coming up later?
➤ On a new roll, roller derby revs up for the season (WB)

Ask Lookout: What’s up with the old SeaBreeze Tavern in Rio Del Mar?

A Lookout debut: This will be your place to ask us anything you want about life in Santa Cruz County. Stymied by a bureaucratic nightmare, wondering about that fave restaurant that still hasn’t opened or intrigued by in-process construction you see going up, ask. Our Lookout staff will pick the best questions and do our best to answer them. Learn about the infamous history of the old tavern from Max Chun here.

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A LOOKOUT MEMBER

ICYMI: There are some big political changes afoot in Santa Cruz — what do they mean?

About this districting ‘mess’: The city of Santa Cruz has been known for its “weak mayor” system for years. Now that a major overhaul of local governance is in order come November with district-by-district representation, some suggest there has never been more of a need for strong leadership from the mayor’s seat. While a vote to create a more nuanced role for a four-year mayor in June still won’t result in what cities call a “strong mayor” system, local political veterans hope it will elicit the type of strong leader needed for the difficult road ahead. Get the details here.

How the U.S., Ukraine, media have thrown a wrench into Russia’s disinformation machine

Scuttling the propaganda: Weaponizing information abroad is a specialty of Putin’s, but two weeks into Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, he’s losing on that front — badly. More from the LA Times here.

Ukrainian mother killed with her children identified as employee of Palo Alto startup

Too close to home: Tatiana Perebeinis, 43, and her children, Nikita, 18, and Alise, 9, were killed along with a volunteer who was helping them flee the war in Ukraine. More from the Times here.

➤ Which companies aren’t exiting Russia? Big pharma (Times)

➤ GET BEHIND THE JOB WHEEL: See all the most recent listings here.

Warehouse Worker / Delivery Driver at Cabrillo College
Bus Driver (Bus Operator) at Santa Cruz METRO
Operations & Maintenance Manager at Soquel Creek Water District

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After soccer star Katie Meyer’s death, Stanford vows to bolster mental health services

Sad aftermath: The March 1 death of Meyer, 22, sent shockwaves through the community, as did the tragic deaths of three other students during the past year: Dylan Simmons, Jacob Meisel and Rose Wong. More from the Times here.

MLB lockout set to end as players, owners agree to new contract terms

The San Francisco Giants celebrate a win on Sept. 2, 2021

Playing ball? The Major League Baseball lockout is ending, with players and team owners agreeing in principle Thursday to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement. Opening Day is tentatively set for April 7. More from the Times.

More from here & elsewhere

➤ Crews set to build first public trails at San Vicente Redwoods (Sentinel)
➤ Watsonville’s longtime city clerk retires (Pajaronian)
➤ Santa Cruz Police stop in-progress carjacking (KION)
➤ Card skimmer found in Capitola ATM (KION)
➤ California city could declare its Chick-fil-A a ‘public nuisance’ (SF Gate)
➤ ‘Very sobering’ study: Global COVID deaths may be over 3x higher than reported (USA Today)

That’s it for this Thursday. Which means tomorrow is Friday, folks! See you then.

Mark Conley
Deputy Managing Editor