Morning Lookout: Digging into Measure O and a bestselling author gets political

Hiya, folks! It is Tuesday, Oct. 11, and it’ll be another fog-to-sun day for many around Santa Cruz County, with temperatures below average in the 60s and 70s in spots but into the upper 80s in the hills.

There’s plenty Lookout to explore, as usual, so if you’re more the go-it-alone type, I won’t be too offended.
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For those of you seeking a more curated look at the morning’s headlines, your trusty guide is here. Up first is Wallace Baine’s look at Measure O, which asks voters in the city of Santa Cruz to decide whether to continue with plans for a mixed-use library/housing development on the lot that currently hosts the downtown farmers market, or to scrap that plan and renovate the main branch where it stands now, among other things. Clearly, it’s complicated.

A bestselling author is the latest conversation for Jody K. Biehl, as our Community Voices opinion editor talks with Celeste Ng about her latest novel, finding hope in dark times and amplifying diverse voices among a host of topics.

And as we get closer to Thursday’s Lookout candidate forum, be sure to check out On the Campaign Trail, continuously updated with news, notes and quotes from election season around the county.

All that plus the latest local COVID data and much more is among Tuesday’s headlines, so let’s get to it.

A lot of disagreement: Measure O galvanizes competing visions of downtown Santa Cruz

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Lot 4 could become one of the most significant downtown Santa Cruz construction projects since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, with a new main branch public library, 120 units of affordable housing and a two-level parking garage. But if Measure O proponents win at the polls, the current library will be renovated and plans will begin for a new parklike space. No matter which way the vote falls, it’s nearly certain that downtown Santa Cruz will get a new library and that the farmers market will continue to operate. The big questions are when and where. Wallace Baine tackles the measure.

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

Conversations with Jody: Bestseller Ng talks new novel, hope in dark times, humanities crisis

(Via Kieran Kesner)

Bestselling novelist Celeste Ng is blessed with prodigious gifts. She writes gorgeous, lush sentences that make us look at ourselves and our world differently. Her first two novels have sold more than 2 million copies and her second novel, “Little Fires Everywhere,” became a popular TV series starring Reese Witherspoon. She comes to Santa Cruz on Oct. 18 for a Bookshop Santa Cruz event at UCSC’s Cowell Ranch Hay Barn to talk about her new novel, “Our Missing Hearts.” Witherspoon just tapped the book as her October pick. Community Voices editor Jody K. Biehl talks to Ng about the book, writing, the role of the humanities and artists, the rise of Donald Trump, motherhood and more. Dive in on the discussion.

➤ MORE: Find previous Conversations with Jody here

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Much to digest as we embark on another Tuesday. Tuesday in these parts also means Lily Belli on Food, and you can get the latest from Lookout’s food & drink maven, plus our other newsletters and breaking news alerts, delivered right to you by clicking right here. You can also keep up with the goings-on around Santa Cruz County by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Be good and have a swell Tuesday!

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz