Good Morning! It’s Friday, October 29 and it will be sunny with a high of 78 and some light, variable wind.
A school resource officer was installed earlier this month at Aptos High School — the first half of a team that will focus on mental health solutions for students. Santa Cruz City Council announced yesterday that they will formally appoint the Watsonville City Manager for its own top non-elected position.
And earlier this week, our Lily Belli talked to local grocers who are feeling the stress of supply chain issues right before the holidays. In another part of the state, a tech entrepreneur rented a boat to see the shipping logjams for himself and started the tweetstorm that may save Christmas.
Let’s dive in:
Half of the new SRO solution in place at Aptos High: Officer hired, mental health clinician still to come
(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Lopez started working at Aptos High School earlier this month as part of the new pairing of school resource officers with mental health clinicians at Aptos and Watsonville high schools. Principal Peggy Pughe told Lookout’s Hillary Ojeda she’s excited about having two people on site who can provide support using a holistic approach. Read more from Hillary here.
Santa Cruz City Council set to hire Watsonville’s city manager, Matt Huffaker
Following the departure of former Santa Cruz City Manager Martín Bernal earlier this year, the city council began its search for a replacement. On Thursday, the council announced it will vote on Nov. 9 to appoint Watsonville City Manager Matt Huffaker. Read more from Hillary here.
Eaters Digest: FLASHbird’s fungi, some cool events & a secret holiday crush
(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)
In this week’s Eaters Digest, Lookout Food Correspondent Lily Belli admits she’s fond of pumpkin spice lattes — from some locations, anyways. The Crispy Fried Hen-Mushroom Sandwich at FLASHbird in Abbott Square is also becoming an interesting, unexpected favorite. Check out all the latest food and restaurant news, events and recommendations from her here.
Been to the movies yet? We’ve got two tickets for you…
There’s just something about watching a movie in the theater and for too long, we’ve had to settle for watching new releases at home on the couch. Now that things are opening up, we want to help you get back out there. For a limited time, if you sign up for a Lookout membership, we’ll set aside two tickets to a CineLux movie for you. Learn more and sign up here.
READ THIS WEEK’S BOLO Best Bets: Halloween is all around us, with vertical concerts as soundtrack
Around the state…
The real story behind a tech founder’s ‘tweetstorm that saves Christmas’: Ryan Petersen, the founder and chief executive of the freight forwarding startup Flexport, wanted to understand the situation at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. So he rented a boat and took a tour of the ship-and-container logjam snarling up the U.S. supply chain. The following morning, Petersen tweeted this all out — and his thread became a rare viral sensation about logistics. Then Gov. Gavin Newsom called him up. Read more here.
LOCAL IMPACT: The supply chain blues: How local grocers are dealing — and why you should get those holiday orders in early (Lily Belli/ Lookout Santa Cruz)
They stuck to their anti-vax beliefs. Now these teachers and school workers are out of jobs: Two teachers, a teaching assistant and a cafeteria manager — all were opposed to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for Los Angeles school employees. One remains teaching, but lost a beloved position; another was fired outright. An employee who won an exemption is out of work anyway. They paid a price for holding to personal beliefs in the face of public-health policy mandates and experts who cite strong evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Read more here.
Around the county…
Friends of the Rail and Trail under investigation for political practices (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Homeless hotel residents facing eviction, brutal housing market (The Pajaronian)
Santa Cruz County fire chief announces retirement after 30 years of battling blazes (KSBW-TV)
That’s it for today. If you’re enjoying our coverage, please tell your family and friends about our Lookout Newsletter & Text Center, where they can sign up for all the newsletters and alerts we offer. You can also keep tabs on everything we’re publishing through the day by bookmarking our website and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Have a great day!
Tulsi Kamath
Lookout Santa Cruz