Morning Lookout: Countering antisemitism at UCSC; seasonal cooking, this week’s news quiz & weekend plans

Good day, friends and neighbors. It is Friday, May 5, and Santa Cruz County is looking at a mix of clouds and sun, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s and chances of rain overnight and into Saturday.

Rather cap the workweek by exploring Lookout’s latest on your own? As you wish.
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A UC Santa Cruz provost says she’s stunned by a pair of recent antisemitic incidents, with Elizabeth Abrams telling Hillary Ojeda that the campus has made “an understandable error in coping with antisemitism incident by incident rather than thinking about this as a climate issue.”

After a long winter that’s taken a toll on the local harvest, Ashley Spencer is along with some tips and recipes to help make the most of what’s available at the moment. She got plenty of good advice from local farmers and foodies, including the team at Seabright Italian favorite La Posta.

The Friday headlines also include a double dose of Wallace Baine, who has this week’s news quiz and a recommendation-packed look around Santa Cruz County’s arts and entertainment scene ahead of the weekend — let’s hit it.

‘Antisemitism is real and we’re seeing it’: UC Santa Cruz provost shocked by antisemitic incidents

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Elizabeth Abrams, provost of UC Santa Cruz’s Merrill College, says she’s stunned by two recent antisemitic incidents, including that a group of students held a birthday party for Adolf Hitler on campus. Abrams is also vice president of Santa Cruz Hillel’s board of directors, which held an emergency meeting Wednesday night to discuss how to move forward. “We need more than messages at this point,” Abrams said. Read her Q&A with Hillary Ojeda.

➤ LOCAL NEWSMAKERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Find all the Lookout Q&As here

Relish the radish: Making the most of Santa Cruz’s bounty in this soggy spring

(Ashley Spencer / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Memorial Day is in sight, and with it the return of eating outdoors, protein on the grill and making stars of veggie-laden salads. Taking her cue from the “cook locally, cook seasonally” approach of Seabright Italian standby La Posta and delving into a pair of new cookbooks, Ashley Spencer offers some ideas and recipes to make the most of local produce even at a time when the effects of climate change on our food scene couldn’t be more apparent after a disastrous winter. Check it out here.

➤ MORE FROM ASHLEY: Bountiful pop-up fare for spring, summer and beyond: The 2023 farm-to-table guide for Santa Cruz County

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A full plate for a Friday, to be sure. Keep it tuned to Lookout to stay current with what’s going on around Santa Cruz County — follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We also offer breaking news alerts via text and email, plus a host of other newsletters, including the specially curated Sunday Reads and Monday’s politics and policy roundup from Christopher Neely, In the Public Interest. Sign up for all that here.

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Enjoy your Friday, and have a safe, relaxing weekend.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz