Morning Lookout: A farmers market-Measure O monkey wrench; inside city-SEIU deal

Hiya, folks! It is Tuesday, Oct. 4, and our run of pleasant fall weather continues, with Santa Cruz County warming into the 70s and 80s under mostly sunny skies. Now, if only we could do something about those ever-earlier sunsets ....

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And a newsy morning it is. Lily Belli reports that the downtown Santa Cruz farmers market is close to agreeing to move to a city-owned lot along Front Street, a block and a half from its current digs. Could that deal a blow to Measure O, the city ballot initiative whose proponents have made keeping the market along Cedar Street a key piece of their arguments?

We’re also still digesting the news of a strike-averting agreement between the City of Santa Cruz and union-represented city workers, and Max Chun and Thomas Sawano are along with details on how the deal will affect the city’s general fund and whether budget cuts might be needed to accommodate it.

Also new is a Community Voices opinion piece from Aptos author Claudia Sternbach, who feels a pre-Civil War vibe in our vitriolic local and national politics and writes about what she learned from a pair of historical novels.

We’ve also got the latest local COVID data and bad news for the big-money gambling propositions on the California ballot, so please, follow along for Tuesday’s headlines.

Downtown farmers market’s move provides challenge to Measure O’s campaign

(Via City of Santa Cruz)

The 32-year-old downtown Santa Cruz market is almost ready to move to a new “permanent,” city-owned location a block and a half away from its current digs. Its new home offers a wider vision of the market anchoring a new community center — but seems to fly in the face of one of the arguments of Measure O proponents. How will the move — and its politics — play out? Lily Belli reports.

➤ MORE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT: Six Blocks: Downtown redo aims for 1,000s of new residents, 6 multistory buildings — and revived riverfront (Lookout)

New SEIU deal to cost Santa Cruz $3.4 million, but budget cuts not anticipated

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

The City of Santa Cruz narrowly avoided a strike by SEIU-represented city workers after reaching a tentative agreement Sunday. Though the deal is expected to cost the city’s general fund $3.4 million over three years, city officials do not anticipate any cuts to other programs receiving general-fund allocations in the 2022-23 fiscal year. One goal of the new deal: making it easier to hire and retain city workers. Get the details from Max Chun and Thomas Sawano.

➤ RELATED: Tough bargaining: Unionized Santa Cruz city workers face difficulties of affordability, inflation, budgets (Lookout)

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I wasn’t lying about it being a newsy Tuesday, huh? If all that whetted your appetite for more from Lookout, you’re in luck. Among other things, we’re mere hours away from another serving of Lily Belli on Food, just one of the newsletter and alert offerings you can get delivered right to you by clicking here. Following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are also good ways to keep up with it all.

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Make it a fantastic Tuesday, and I shall meet you back here Wednesday a.m.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz