In the city of Santa Cruz, it’s been a rough, tumultuous stretch for all elected officials and staff trying to triage issues — largely centered around homelessness. New Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker calls this a “medium-size city with big-city problems,” and he’s trying to be the type of leader to facilitate solutions.
Lookout Q&A
Posted inCity Life
UCSC grad Reyna Grande retells tale of ‘invasion of Mexico,’ talks our ‘collective amnesia’
Celebrated writer Reyna Grande triumphantly returns to her alma mater with a new novel set during the Mexican-American War. She talks about its roots, her teachers along the way and how Santa Cruz changed her life.
Posted inCoast Life
Q&A: Michael Rugg, Bigfoot museum curator, talks curiosity, environment and that smell
Cryptozoology — and the study of cryptids — has never been a joke to Michael Rugg, proprietor of Felton’s Bigfoot Discovery Museum. He believes the truth is still out there.
Posted inFood & Drink
Andrea Nguyen: ‘The food tastes much better if it has a story behind it’
Acclaimed Santa Cruz cookbook author Andrea Nguyen gives her tips on using local veggies, cookbook how-tos and where to find the best Asian produce right here on this side of the hill.
Posted inCity Life
Q&A: Julie James looking for jewels from local playwrights
Jewel Theatre Company artistic director Julie James says she has one goal: To produce one new play a year.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Q&A: Heather Rogers, the first public defender in Santa Cruz County history, doesn’t see cases, only people
“You know how when you find something that you love, it just feels like you don’t want to stop? That was how public defense was for me from the very beginning,” says Heather Rogers, a Santa Cruz native who steps into the role as public defender July 1.
Posted inK-12 Education
Q&A: Garden-focused learning sprouts at Watsonville’s Starlight Elementary, with an Emeril connection
Starlight Elementary School students will have access to a state-of-the-art garden and kitchen center next fall after the Pajaro Valley Unified district won a national grant to fund its innovation. We talked with Starlight Principal Jackie Medina on how it happened and what it will do.
Posted inHousing & Development
Four years and counting. Why does it take so long to get one Santa Cruz housing project off the ground?
Three weeks ago, local developer Workbench broke ground on a 13-townhouse development in Soquel. Lookout talked to founding partner Jamileh Cannon about why it took so long to begin building — the impact of legislative efforts to speed construction of housing.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘What about me?’: She wanted a Santa Cruz woman in Sacramento, so veteran politico Gail Pellerin called her own number
Recruitment of others led Gail Pellerin to the revelation that no one has better qualifications for the California State Assembly than herself. That’s why the noted advocate for voting rights and mental health awareness is attempting to become the first area woman to ever earn an elected seat in state government.
Posted inK-12 Education
Q&A: School superintendent Faris Sabbah says parents need to stop bullying teachers over mask mandates
Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah says Santa Cruz County parents are bullying teachers, upsetting staff and filing claims against school districts for enforcing mask mandates. Parents have bombarded schools with hundreds of “threatening messages” and angry emails and have had heated, in-person exchanges with teachers and office staff. How tough a response are the schools mounting? Sabbah describes it in detail.