Morning Lookout: Joby milestone, BLM mural repainting, Pogonip clearing & supporting our nonprofits

Hello again, Santa Cruz County. It is Tuesday, June 6, and our forecast calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms into the afternoon and temps in the 60s.

Lots to explore on Lookout, so if my guided tour isn’t in your future, hop on in.
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The two men sentenced in the 2021 vandalism of the Black Lives Matter mural outside Santa Cruz City Hall will participate in repainting it later this month, Max Chun reports. Brandon Bochat and Hagan Warner are also expected to offer an apology.

Monday was a landmark day for local powerhouse Joby Aviation as it officially opened its new digs in the Harvey West area of Santa Cruz. The building was long home to a company with a storied history, Wallace Baine reports, and Joby’s founder touted continued “expansive thinking.”

Nearby, the clearing of homeless encampments continued in the Pogonip open space, with Lookout’s Kevin Painchaud on hand to document the latest phase. One resident said he hopes to find a less stressful environment for himself, his girlfriend and their dog at the armory in DeLaveaga Park.

And in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, former Santa Cruz mayor Mike Rotkin traces the history of how local nonprofits get public funding, writing how continued public support for that funding is crucial even as local governments face a gloomy budget picture.

So please, read on for those stories and more as we run through the Tuesday headlines.

Men convicted of vandalizing BLM mural at Santa Cruz City Hall expected to help with upcoming repainting

(Via Santa Cruz Police Department)

The vandalized Black Lives Matter mural will finally be repaired June 24, with defendants Brandon Bochat and Hagan Warner present. SC Equity Collab expects to begin holding annual touch-up events for the mural going forward. Max Chun has details.

➤ PREVIOUSLY: BLM mural vandals sentenced to probation, community service; ordered to pay restitution

Joby Aviation opens new Santa Cruz office, where another revolutionary company once did business

(Alison Gamel / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Monday was another landmark moment in the unfolding story of Joby Aviation, as the company welcomed more than 100 local guests, dignitaries, media members and investors to the opening of its new offices at Sylvania Avenue and Encinal Street. The event featured a few speeches, a ribbon cutting, and then a tour of the former Plantronics office now officially the home of Joby which, one staffer estimated, employs about 300 in Santa Cruz. Wallace Baine was on hand.

➤ FROM 2021: Liftoff on Wall Street: Santa Cruz electric air-taxi company Joby Aviation goes public

Another Tuesday teed up for ya. Among other things at Lookout, Tuesday means Santa Cruz County food and drink news, and Jessica M. Pasko will be along presently with this week’s update, including the latest on downtown dining parklets. Get all that delivered right to you via email or text and sign up for all of our other newsletters and breaking news alerts by clicking right here. Give Lookout a follow on the socials, too: We’re on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Take care, friends, and thanks for reading.

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz