Morning Lookout: Overnight RV parking ban passes despite outcry, UCSC honors civil rights icon

By Tulsi Kamath

Source: Lookout Santa Cruz

Good Morning! It’s Thursday, October 28 and it will be sunny with a high of 80. And check out the National Weather Service’s forecast of your weekend and Halloween weather here:

Despite public outcry, a controversial overnight RV parking ban passed in Santa Cruz City Council — a move critics say will exacerbate the city’s homelessness crisis but proponents claim will have positive environmental and health impacts for the community. And UC Santa Cruz will be honoring civil rights icon and late Congressman John Lewis by naming a building for him — a first for the university.

This year, Watsonville’s Día de los Muertos observation is laced with a deep sadness due to the pandemic’s devastating impact on the community — and a group of artists is undertaking a communitywide effort to bring the spirit of honoring the dead. And finally, local grocers are feeling the pressure of stocking and hiring up for the holidays and they say customers may have to be flexible with expectations this year.

Here are your headlines:

Amid outcry, Santa Cruz City Council bans overnight parking for RVs, aims to create alternatives

a parking ticket on an RV parked on Delaware Avenue on the Westside of Santa Cruz

An ordinance banning oversized vehicles from parking on Santa Cruz streets from midnight through 5 a.m. passed 5-2 earlier this week after a contentious back-and-forth among councilmembers and vocal opposition from community members. The two council members who voted against the ordinance said they worried it could lead to further issues of homelessness throughout the city. Read more from our Grace Stetson here.

UCSC College Ten to be named in honor of civil rights icon John R. Lewis

John R. Lewis in the documentary "Good Trouble."

UCSC announced Wednesday that its youngest college will be renamed after the late congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, in line with the undergraduate residential college’s theme of social justice and community. This will be the first college at the university to be named for a person of color. Read more from our Hillary Ojeda here.

The supply chain blues: How local grocers are dealing — and why you should get those holiday orders in early

Grocery clerk Liam Crawford stocks chips at New Leaf Market in Downtown Santa Cruz.

With the holiday season approaching, local grocers like Staff of Life and New Leaf are doing what they can to procure favorite items. However, they anticipate customers are going to have to be flexible about the availability of some of those. “A lot of companies just either aren’t producing them or we can’t get them where we’re at.” Read more from our Lily Belli here.

Watsonville’s Día de los Muertos observance a poignant response to 2020’s trauma and turmoil

Painter Carmen Leon with her work "La Cultura Cura" at Pajaro Valley Arts.

For years, the artists at Pajaro Valley Arts have been honoring the Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos with a tradition of their own called “Mi Casa Es Tu Casa.” But year’s “Mi Casa” curator, Shirley Flores-Muñoz, said that a year of trauma and turmoil like 2020 simply called for a larger response. “It’s not just an art show. It’s not just a Mexican practice. There are real sadnesses out there, real in our community.” Read more from our Wallace Baine here.

Been to the movies yet? We’ve got two tickets for you...

There’s just something about watching a movie in the theater and for too long, we’ve had to settle for watching new releases at home on the couch. Now that things are opening up, we want to help you get back out there. For a limited time, if you sign up for a Lookout membership, we’ll set aside two tickets to a CineLux movie for you. Learn more and sign up here.

Around the state...

Vehicles make their way through a flooded area of High Street near Interstate 880 in Oakland on Oct. 24, 2021.

What’s at stake for California and Newsom at climate conference? The 26th United Nations climate change conference will draw global leaders including a 23-member official delegation from California led by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The meeting comes as the extreme impacts of climate change continue to pummel California, which saw torrential rains this week even in the midst of a devastating drought. The governor has big shoes to fill compared to former Gov. Jerry Brown. Read more here.

Shirley Reyes, 49, a housekeeper at San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront, in front of the hotel in Burlingame

Few working poor get to vote on unions. Can California change that? Facing a staggering wealth gap, California suggests increasing union participation among low-wage workers, noting that a union membership reduces working poverty better than a college degree. But getting more workers to vote on unions will require businesses and unions to compromise. Recent efforts have stalled but the stakes are higher than ever. Read more here.

Mills Hall at Mills College in Oakland on Oct. 19, 2021. Can Jozef Saul for CalMatters

Pandemic rules add stress for campus RAs: Resident advisers are often the first people students turn to for help navigating the party culture, roommate dynamics, and academic stress that can make college life complicated. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, the role has come with an added risk. For many RAs, being back on campus this year has meant they are now enforcing their schools’ pandemic policies while navigating the rules themselves. Read more here.

Around the county...

Santa Cruz County redistricting committee recommends minor changes (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Specialty coffee shop joins Watsonville Hangar complex (The Pajaronian)

Santa Cruz County Office of Education hosts vaccine townhall while facing protests (KSBW-TV)

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Have a great day!

Tulsi Kamath
Lookout Santa Cruz