Quick Take:

If you are hankering for turkey and pumpkin pie, steer clear of Lookout columnist Claudia Sternbach’s house. She and her...

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Nov. 23, and the day before Thanksgiving will be mostly sunny around Santa Cruz County, with highs again in the 60s and lower 70s.

If you’re too hungry for headlines to wait, dive right into Lookout’s latest.
JUMP TO … Latest News | Opinion | Events | Guides | Puzzles | Obituaries

Just as you might be ramping up with some holiday traditions, we’re doing the same here at Lookout. Last year, we highlighted firefighters and community volunteers, farmworker advocates and allies to isolated seniors in our Unsung Santa Cruz series, and we’re again asking you, our readers, to nominate folks who make our community a better place. Read on to find out how.

A pair of local teams are headed for Florida in search of glory, Max Chun reports, with the Santa Cruz Seahawks Pop Warner football team seeking to defend its national title and the JV cheer team eyeing its first championship.

And ahead of the holiday, Claudia Sternbach writes about what she’s grateful for this Thanksgiving in her latest column for our Community Voices opinion section.

The Wednesday headlines also include updated Santa Cruz County vote totals, the latest in food and drink news from Lily Belli and how to weigh in on Cabrillo College’s name change, so let’s check it all out.

Kaiser Permanente promoted content

Unsung Santa Cruz: Nominate a community member who is doing great things

IRVINE, CA -- WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020: Jose Secundino, center in blue sweatshirt, joins fellow recently hired Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County temporary employees, who have been laid off from restaurant jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, as they pack boxes of food for the needy. Volunteers then picked up the food and delivered it to local senior centers in Orange County. Photo taken at Second Harvest Food Bank at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA, on April 1, 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Jose Secundino, blue sweatshirt, and other Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County temporary employees prepare boxes for the needy. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

For the second year, Lookout is working to highlight regular folks who are working hard behind the scenes to make Santa Cruz County a great place to live. Nominate friends and neighbors you believe are doing good work in the community to be featured in our upcoming coverage. Click here to find out how.

➤ UNSUNG SANTA CRUZ 2021: Lookout highlights regular folks doing great things

election membership offer

Santa Cruz Pop Warner 12U football, cheer teams seek national titles in December

The 2022 12U Santa Cruz Seahawks.

The Santa Cruz Seahawks 12U team has again qualified for the Pop Warner National Championships in Florida after winning it all last season. The junior varsity cheer team has also qualified, and looks to bring home its first national title. Max Chun scopes it out.

➤ MORE FROM THE LOCAL SPORTS SCENE: Will pickleball take over the planet? We investigate this ‘fastest-growing sport’; laughter, trash talk ensue (Lookout)

County Bank PROMOTED CONTENT ROADBLOCK (Farm Discovery welcomes students)
Happy Thanksgiving, Santa Cruz. What are you grateful for? I’ve got Nancy Pelosi and pasta palooza on my list Final vote tally for all 40 Santa Cruz County races, broken down Lily Belli on Food: Branching into olives, fungus fair and skipping Thanksgiving experiments With name change, Cabrillo College faces a reckoning over issues of history and identity Drought forces California farmers to idle vast growing areas, costing $1.7 billion

Santa Cruz County Job Board

Santa Cruz Puzzle Center promo

Plenty of food for thought as you gear up for the real feasting. Keep tabs on everything happening around Santa Cruz County by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and get breaking news alerts and all of our other newsletters delivered right to you by clicking here.

Our members are our backbone here at Lookout, and we’re thankful for each and every one of you! Please consider becoming a Lookout member if you’re not already — none of what we do is possible without community support.

Play it safe and stay cool if you’re hitting the road, and may your Thanksgiving be a joyful one!

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz

A veteran jack-of-all-trades journalist who is Lookout’s copy editor, writes and compiles Morning Lookout newsletter and produces Lookout’s other editorial newsletters and helps run Lookout’s social...