Jessica M. Pasko

Jessica M. Pasko has been writing professionally for almost two decades. She cut her teeth in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in her native Albany, New York, where she covered everything from plane crashes and arts & culture to state politics, including assisting with the coverage of former New York State Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s resignation. After getting her master’s degree at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she moved to the West Coast and covered crime and breaking news for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. She has also worked for KION and written for a variety of local, regional and national publications on both coasts, including Evanston Patch, The Good Times, Santa Cruz Waves and many others.
Posted inBusiness & Technology

Santa Cruz Works’ Doug Erickson on how region’s affordable housing crisis affects local tech economy

by Jessica M. Pasko

The tech sector has been hit hard the past few years, and analysts anticipate that tech layoffs in 2023 will exceed the number in 2022. While recession fears continue to reverberate within the larger tech ecosystem, at the local level we’ve seen some significant growth activity. In an interview with Lookout business columnist Jessica M. Pasko, Santa Cruz Works founder Doug Erickson discusses how the region’s affordable housing woes have affected the growth of the local tech industry — and why AI is about to upend everything.

Posted inBusiness & Technology

Santa Cruz medtech company Capstan Medical raises $31.4 million in new funding round, looks to local expansion

by Jessica M. Pasko

Capstan Medical, founded in 2020, is developing a minimally invasive technology to treat mitral and tricuspid valve disease. The Santa Cruz company recently raised $31.4 million in a Series B fundraising round led by Palo Alto-based venture capital firm Eclipse. The funding will help with hiring in four key areas — software and controls engineering, mechanical engineering, clinical and operations.

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