Morning Lookout: Biden to campaign for Newsom in California; murals to go up around town

By Tulsi Kamath

Source: Lookout Santa Cruz

Good Morning! It’s Monday, September 13 and it will be mostly sunny with a high of 73.

With the recall election tomorrow, President Joe Biden will be embarking today on a trip three-state trip with two stops in California — a move the White House has admitted is primarily motivated by the recall election. Meanwhile, if the governor fends off recall efforts and stays in office, he may have to pay back the healthcare unions that supported him and establish a government-run, single-payer health care system.

Locally, artists from Santa Cruz and elsewhere will begin an ambitious project to create a series of unique murals — each themed on the threats facing marine life from climate change

And, a quick reminder before your news: You just have a couple days left to join Lookout Santa Cruz and Second Harvest Food Bank in our fight against childhood hunger. By becoming a Lookout member here, you could be a part of our double giveback program that would funnel $54 towards the cause.

Lets get to it:

Lives turned upside down in Swanton: Longtime local entrepreneurs grappling with unique double whammy

Carren Dixon and her daughter Hannah-Jane Wilson survey their property that was devastated by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire.

A family legacy that started with Jan’s Cakes in the 1960s got thrown into upheaval, first by COVID and then by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. The longtime homestead and center of business for the family that runs Buttercup Cakes and Farmhouse Frosting got destroyed; now the family is pondering what to do. Lookout contributor Laurel Bushman has the story.

Will CZU survivors get relief? Supervisors set to reevaluate geologic surveys for those trying to rebuild

Burnt chimneys, vehicles and appliances all pose their own set of health and safety risks.

Following a County Board of Supervisors meeting on Aug. 10, Supervisors Bruce McPherson and Ryan Coonerty directed the County Planning Department and the Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience to provide some options at tomorrow’s meeting, which would allow CZU fire survivors to rebuild without having to mitigate potential geologic hazards that existed on their property before the fire. What will happen tomorrow? Our Grace Stetson has more.

Ambitious Sea Walls Santa Cruz mural project ‘going to change the town forever’

One of Sea Walls' murals in Wailuku, Hawaii.

Starting today, artists from Santa Cruz and around the world will create a series of unique murals — each themed on the ocean, specifically the threats facing marine life from climate change — that stretches from the Westside to Capitola. The result will be an artistic transformation by the Sea Walls project, an international effort to translate the ominous environmental reality facing the world’s oceans into urban public art. Read more about it from our Wallace Baine here.

PHOTOS: Seacliff ceremony honors 9/11 first responders (Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Green miles: A vegan roadmap to Santa Cruz

The Roasted Scramble Stack at Veg on the Edge.

From breakfast through after-dinner dessert and just about every other eating and drinking opportunity in between, Santa Cruz County has a wealth of options for anyone eating vegan or curious about trying it. Here are several ideas from Lookout contributor Liza Monroy.

READ ALSO: Sprouting a movement: Veganism goes mainstream (Liza Monroy / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Recall Newsom updates

President Joe Biden addresses the nation Thursday.

Biden headed to California, other states to assess wildfires, campaign for Newsom: President Joe Biden is embarking on a three-state western swing today that will include two stops in California, where he will assess wildfire damage in Sacramento and rally support for Gov. Gavin Newsom in Long Beach a day ahead of the state’s recall election. The campaign event for Newsom, the administration has admitted, is the primary reason for the trip. Read more here.

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press during a visit to Ruby Bridges Elementary School in Alameda on March 16, 2021.

Health care unions defending Newsom from recall will want single-payer payback: Should Gavin Newsom survive the Republican-driven attempt to oust him from office, the Democratic governor will face the prospect of paying back supporters who coalesced behind him. Publicly, union leaders say they’re standing beside Newsom because he has displayed political courage during the COVID-19 pandemic. But behind the scenes, they are aggressively pressuring him to follow through on his 2018 campaign pledge. Read more here.

Around the county...

Santa Cruz Warriors name new GM, head coach (The Pajaronian)

Final conviction ends 7-year Watsonville gang shooting case (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Fire recovery scams on the rise amid fire season (KION-TV)

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Have a great day!

Tulsi Kamath
Lookout Santa Cruz