Quick Take:
Painted by noted Santa Cruz County muralist Taylor Reinhold, the artwork on the development between Cedar and Center...
An excellent morning to you, Santa Cruz County friends and neighbors. It’s Tuesday, Nov. 7, and sunny skies return, drying us out a little as temperatures head into the 60s for just about everyone.
JUMP TO … Latest News | Opinion | Events | Guides | Puzzles
Christopher Neely is up first with a dip into local politics, where Sheriff Jim Hart has signaled that he won’t run to replace retiring District 5 Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce McPherson next year by endorsing nonprofit CEO Monica Martinez. “It shows people are feeling confident in me as a candidate,” says Martinez, who’s in a three-person race with Christopher Bradford and Theresa Bond.
After a subcommittee of two trustees recommended that Cabrillo College’s governing board not censure trustee Steve Trujillo over offensive Facebook posts, the board did just that Monday night, Hillary Ojeda reports, voicing its disapproval in a 6-1 vote with Trujillo as the only dissent. Trujillo reiterated his defense that his account was hacked and that he didn’t write the posts in question.
From downtown Santa Cruz, Wallace Baine scopes out the mural gracing the new development between Cedar and Center streets, a creation by the prolific Taylor Reinhold that aims to evoke classical Japanese art. That’s just the latest installment in Lookout’s ongoing Changing Santa Cruz series covering downtown’s facelift.
And in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, local educator Michael Levy writes about responses he’s seeing around the world and in Santa Cruz County to the Israel-Hamas war, and what he’s learned as he tries to tame his own anger through research.
The Tuesday headlines also include a conviction for the captain of the dive boat where a fire killed six Santa Cruz County residents in 2019, our latest high school sports roundup and more. Onward.
Sheriff Jim Hart makes decision on District 5 county supervisor race
What Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart might do was a big unknown in the race to replace the retiring Bruce McPherson in District 5, which stretches from north of the city of Santa Cruz to the Santa Clara County line. Nonprofit CEO Monica Martinez announced Oct. 30 that Hart had endorsed her candidacy, giving her a boost in a three-person field that also includes Christopher Bradford and Theresa Bond. Christopher Neely has the lay of the land.
➤ MORE FROM THE PUBLIC SQUARE: ‘Zoom bombing’ tests the boundaries of free speech and access in local government meetings
Cabrillo College governing board censures trustee Steve Trujillo after offensive social media posts
In a 6-1 vote Monday, with Steve Trujillo as the lone dissent, Cabrillo College trustees registered their disapproval of Trujillo’s Facebook posts and found that the posts violated policy; Trujillo reiterated his defense that the account had been hacked. The formal censure also prohibits Trujillo from serving as an officer of the board for three years. Hillary Ojeda was on hand.
➤ PREVIOUSLY: Cabrillo College probe recommends against censuring trustee Steve Trujillo over offensive Facebook posts
A busy Tuesday around Lookout, and we’re not slowing down, either: What’s still in the oven is the latest edition of Lily Belli on Food, tasty tidbits of food and drink news from around Santa Cruz County. That will be along later in newsletter form, and you can get in on that and all of Lookout’s newsletters, plus breaking news alerts, by signing up right here. We’ll also keep you up to date on it all via our social media channels, so follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads.
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Enjoy what’s shaping up to be a nice little Tuesday — I’ll see you back here Wednesday a.m.
Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz