Quick Take:

In 2019, local business owner Max Turigliatto transformed the Watering Hole, a neglected dive bar off of Mission Street...

Three UCSC alumni spearhead equitable dental care access to Santa Cruz County seniors

How Lara Love Hardin survived addiction, incarceration and shame to rebuild her life

Author Lara Love Hardin holding her new book,

As “The Many Lives of Mama Love” hits bookshops Tuesday, the tale of the Santa Cruz author and literary agent of rebounding from rock bottom to stability – and fame – shows a dizzying transformation. Read her interview with Wallace Baine here.

MORE FROM WALLACE BAINE: The Primack imprint: How Ellen Primack built the Cabrillo Festival into an internationally celebrated showcase of new music

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Can we in Santa Cruz please get a grip on the Cabrillo name change issue?

An aerial view of Cabrillo College's Aptos campus
A joint Cabrillo College-UCSC student housing project has been proposed for the area adjacent to Cabrillo’s ball fields. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Everyone needs to relax about the Cabrillo College renaming issue, says former Santa Cruz mayor and longtime housing activist Don Lane. “While there are some very real concerns on both sides when it comes to the name change, it feels like many folks in the community have exaggerated these issues,” Lane says. He dismisses the “history” argument, unpacks “whataboutism” and evokes dead Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. He also begs us to listen to each others’ pain and, in true Santa Cruz spirit, act “differently.” Read his opinion piece in Community Voices.

MORE COVERAGE: As backlash over Cabrillo College name change grows, some donors weigh whether to keep giving

Letter to the editor: ‘I challenge the Cabrillo Board to put this important issue to a community-wide vote’

10 hot jobs roadblock 7/30

Selfies by the sea: Otter 841’s popularity renews concerns about humans encroaching on marine wildlife

Kayakers gather in a kelp bed to watch a group of otters in Santa Cruz.
Kayakers gather in a kelp bed to watch a group of otters in Santa Cruz. Credit: Mark Woodward / Native Santa Cruz

The growing popularity of Santa Cruz’s Otter 841 is renewing concerns about the damaging ways that humans encroach on marine life. Researchers say ocean tourism, social media and portable cameras are enticing spectators to get closer to wild animals. Some are now raising the alarm that repeated human encounters are harming the animals’ predator-avoidance instincts. Read the story from Max Chun here.

MORE COVERAGE: Read all of Lookout’s Otter 841 coverage here

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