Morning Lookout: A Westside throwdown, Eaters Digest and Fruition’s fruit connections

What is up, fellow humans? It’s Friday, Oct. 21, and many around Santa Cruz County will see a cloudy start after the marine layer came barreling back in, with highs in the 60s near the coast to the 80s in the mountains.

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You might have heard that there’s an election coming up, and Christopher Neely headed to the Westside to explore the race for the District 6 seat on the Santa Cruz City Council. Renée Golder and Sean Maxwell agree on some things, he found, but have plenty of differences. They, along with the candidates for the District 4 council seat and in state Assembly District 28, will be part of Lookout’s final forum of this election season, coming Monday. It’s free, and you can register here to save your spot in person at Hotel Paradox or virtually via Zoom.

This being Friday, Lily Belli is here with another piping-hot serving of Eaters Digest. She’s got word on a new downtown Santa Cruz breakfast spot and a happening Corralitos gathering, plus tips on some local wines she sampled at last weekend’s Gourmet Grazing on the Green in Aptos.

We’ve also got the latest installment of our Farmers Market Fridays series, with Blaire Hobbs profiling Watsonville’s Fruition Brewing and its tight bond with local farmers.

We’ve got lots more headlines, including Wallace Baine’s recommendation-packed Weekender, so full speed ahead.

Westside divide: In District 6, Renée Golder and Sean Maxwell differ in tactics to solve the day’s problems

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

As Santa Cruz’s Westside gets its own city council seat, a carpenter and a school principal square off. “If we had to move tomorrow, I don’t know if we would be able to live here,” says Sean Maxwell, a planning commissioner who pushes for more affordability. Renée Golder sees public safety as her foundational issue. “If you’re not safe, you can’t really do anything else. Everybody deserves to live and thrive wherever they are,” she says. Their race mirrors much of our local politics today. Christopher Neely dives in.

➤ ON THE BALLOT ELSEWHERE: Greg, Hector and Scott for District 4: A new face for a quickly changing district (Lookout)

Wines that wowed at Grazing on the Green; Uncork Corralitos celebrates Pajaro producers

(Via Facebook)

A new egg-themed breakfast spot is coming to downtown Santa Cruz, taste Pajaro Valley producers at the inaugural Uncork Corralitos, plus a recap of last weekend’s Gourmet Grazing on the Green — it’s all on the menu for Lily Belli in this week’s Eaters Digest. Find it here.

➤ MORE FROM LILY: Feting local winemaking, Manresa Bread’s Westside outpost + Thanksgiving prep

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A nice little mix as we head into Friday. You can stay current throughout the day and weekend with Lookout breaking news alerts and our other newsletters, including the specially curated Sunday Reads — and you can sign up for all that here. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, too.

Thanks for hanging during another busy week around Santa Cruz County. If you appreciate what we’re doing, please consider becoming a Lookout member; our content isn’t possible without community support.

Enjoy what Friday has on tap for us, and have a safe, relaxing weekend!

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz