A Santa waits for someone at an airport terminal.

Sunday Reads: Looking back at ’21 for 21'; finishing up ‘Unsung Santa Cruz’

WALLACE BAINE: A year later, our ’21 for ’21' crew looks back at 2021

From L-R: Rabbi Paula Marcus, Phil Kramer, Maria Elena De La Garza

The year that was: After yet another long year, Wallace Baine looks back on Lookout’s “21 for 21" series, produced in the waning months of 2020. These were people and groups we thought would have a significant and critical impact in 2021. Read how they thought the year went.

Final ‘Unsung’ for 2021: The story of a beloved bus driver who ‘vanished’ as COVID emerged

Wrapping up: For the final “Unsung” for this year, Mark Conley brings you the tale of Domingo Tovar — the second person in Santa Cruz County to die of COVID-19. As the two-year mark nears of his unexpected passing in April 2020, his family and friends still grapple with how loss unfolded at the beginning of a little-understood pandemic. Read his story here.

➤ “Unsung Santa Cruz” series archive

Overwhelmed by volunteers, organizers say holiday meal proof ‘we do care for each other’

Alicia Wright helps hand out food on Dec. 24 as part of the Food Not Bombs holiday meal service.

Special meals: Keith McHenry, founder of Food Not Bombs, said he was overwhelmed by community support as he prepared to distribute free meals to the unhoused population this holiday season. The group had festive offerings for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Haneen Zain has the story.