Greetings, Lookout friends! It’s Thursday, June 23, and with the marine layer back, we’re looking at a wide range of temperatures for Santa Cruz County today, from 60s and 70s closer to the water to the mid-90s in the mountains.
Our Community Voices opinion forum takes center stage this morning, with UC Santa Cruz student and Black Lives Matter activist Faith Brown writing about a dress code at downtown nightclub Motiv she sees as “an invitation to racism.” “Why am I the only one noticing this? Why has a supposedly progressive community like Santa Cruz allowed this policy to remain for ‘a while’?” she writes. “Our community isn’t noticing or calling out its own latent racism. That makes me feel even more isolated.”
Meanwhile, though summer is officially here, county educators are focused on implementing new transitional kindergarten classes for younger students, and Hillary Ojeda has an update on how planning is going and what’s still left to do.
Hillary also has a Q&A with delfin bautista, with the new director of UC Santa Cruz’s Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center talking about their plans for outreach, inclusivity and integrating queer studies into the UCSC curriculum.
We’ve also got an update on vote tallies from the June 7 primary and the latest county COVID-19 data, so let’s drop in on today’s headlines.
Motiv nightclub needs to change dress code; Santa Cruz ‘isn’t noticing or calling out its own latent racism’
Motiv nightclub in downtown Santa Cruz has a dress code that prohibits visible tattoos, “gang-affiliated” colors, excessively baggy clothes, sandals and flip-flops. In a Community Voices op-ed, UC Santa Cruz student and Black Lives Matter activist Faith Brown writes that the policy is an “invitation to racism.” Motiv refused to talk to Brown, but told Lookout its dress code is not regularly enforced. Read her full Community Voices opinion piece here.
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Santa Cruz school districts’ transitional kindergarten plans taking shape, but much still left to do
While summer is just now officially kicking off, the school year already feels around the corner for Santa Cruz County school districts preparing to add a new grade level to their campuses: transitional kindergarten for 4-year-olds. Several districts have already submitted their TK plans — to meet a June 30 deadline — to the California Department of Education. Hillary Ojeda has the update.
➤ MORE: How the new expanded transitional kindergarten program offers parents more choice — and more quandaries (Lookout)
Everyone in the pool: UCSC’s new Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center director builds on a 50-year program
delfin bautista joined UC Santa Cruz this spring as director of the center that supports and advocates for the university’s LGBTQIA+ community. They have big plans for outreach, inclusivity, challenging wider Santa Cruz — and integrating queer studies into the UCSC curriculum. Here’s bautista’s Q&A with Hillary.
➤ MORE LOOKOUT Q&As: Hear from Santa Cruz newsmakers
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at The County of Santa Cruz
- Market Research Project Manager at Evans Data Corporation
- Department Assistant – Human Resources (Short-Term) at Cabrillo College
- Grants Manager at DigitalNEST
- Assistant Director of Donor Relations at UC Santa Cruz
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Primary election: With most votes counted, only Measure F hangs in the balance
After the Santa Cruz County Clerk updated the tallies from the June 7 primary election on Tuesday, turnout had surpassed 45%, with the vast majority of the 76,344 votes cast coming via mail. Get the latest on the vote count.
➤ ELECTION 2022: Find all of Lookout’s coverage in one place
COVID Dashboard: Jabs officially available for children 5 and under
“I think this is a major milestone,” Santa Cruz County Deputy Health Officer Dr. Cal Gordon told Lookout about approval of COVID vaccines for our youngest. “Finally, our last cohort can be vaccinated.” Find more on the rollout and the latest local data here.
➤ BIG PICTURE: This new California coronavirus wave isn’t sticking to the script: Big spread, less illness (Los Angeles Times)
Around the county …
➤ Watsonville teacher, civil rights advocate Mas Hashimoto dies (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
➤ Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office aiding investigation into illegal steel traps, larger rewarded offered (KSBW-TV)
➤ Swimmer is recovering after shark bite off Pacific Grove (Monterey County Weekly)
Much food for thought as we head into our Thursday. And if you’re already eyeing the end of the workweek, Wallace Baine has you covered — his Weekender newsletter will hit inboxes in mere hours, and you can sign up for that and all of our newsletters and alerts by visiting our Lookout Newsletter & Text Center. You can also keep tabs throughout the day by bookmarking our website and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Enjoy your Thursday!
Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz