Morning Lookout: A plea to visiting Biden, Cabrillo renaming committee + latest COVID numbers

Good morning, all. It is Wednesday, Jan. 18, and a mostly cloudy day is the forecast for Santa Cruz County after this chilly start, with a chance of rain as we head toward evening — though it looks to be a much weaker system than the ones we’ve been dealing with.

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Leading off this morning is an editorial in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, asking President Joe Biden to look beyond photo ops and consider issues of equity when he visits the Central Coast on Thursday to survey storm damage. “We hope Biden will do better,” it reads. “We hope he will take in more than just our battered landscape, but will also pay attention to the disrupted lives of many of our neediest community members.”

Biden’s visit comes as Santa Cruz County shifts to recovery mode — get up to speed on those efforts and other storm aftermath in our Santa Cruz County Storm Central — and you can help us chronicle that effort by sending us your cleanup and recovery photos at news@lookoutlocal.com.

The renaming process is moving along at Cabrillo College, meanwhile, and Hillary Ojeda reports on developments from Tuesday’s meeting of the school’s governing board, including plans for a 25-member committee, community surveys and more.

We’ve also got the latest local COVID, flu and RSV numbers, plus how Santa Cruz County has fared on getting the latest bivalent booster shot.

And Lily Belli checked in on how local farmers markets fared amid the storm siege, a story you’ll find among the day’s headlines, too.

President Biden, please come to Santa Cruz County and visit those who need help the most

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

As the governor and the president visit storm-torn California, where they visit is a meaningful act. Beyond scenic photo ops, it’s a sign of where their attention — and funding — might go. Santa Cruz County deserves a stop — but not just in scenic Capitola. Read the Lookout View editorial here.

➤ LAST WEEK: How much will California help pay for Santa Cruz storm repairs? Newsom signals ‘assessments’

Cabrillo College plans for 25-member advisory board, community surveys in renaming process

(Thomas Sawano / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Cabrillo College’s governing board briefly outlined the process to rename the school at a meeting Tuesday. Among the steps: The board plans to solicit applications from campus and community members to form a “name advisory committee” of up to 25 people to help narrow the list of potential new names to three to five. Get the details from Hillary Ojeda.

➤ FROM WALLACE BAINE: With name change, Cabrillo College faces a reckoning over issues of history and identity

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Plenty to chew on as we hit hump day — and there’s more coming, of course, so I’d recommend you follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with what’s happening around Santa Cruz County. We also offer breaking news alerts and a host of other newsletters, which you can sign up for by clicking here.

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Stay safe, stay sane, and have good Wednesday.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz