SPECIAL REPORT: “The best way I can say (it) is you’ve got a computer from 1990 that has limited memory, and you’re trying to load the latest version of Google Maps,” Santa Cruz Fire Chief Jason Hajduk says of the system. But finding the money to fix things won’t be easy.
Patrick Riley
Follow Patrick Riley on: Twitter. Patrick Riley is Lookout Santa Cruz’s county government accountability reporter. He comes to Lookout from Florida, where he covered Collier County government for the Naples Daily News. Before that, he covered breaking news, cops, courts and the city of Bonita Springs, also for the Daily News.He can be reached at patrick@lookoutlocal.com.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz police arrest Super Silver jewelry heist suspect after getting community help
Gregory R. Burros, 34, a Santa Cruz County resident, was arrested around 10 a.m. on Thursday by the police department’s Neighborhood Policing Team.
Posted inLatest News
Suspect who traded gunfire with police in Aptos had been free on bail after meth, guns seized in 2020
Eli Burry, 39, is expected to face several charges for weapons violations and violent felonies, according to the sheriff’s office, stemming from the incident late Tuesday.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
COVID-spawned budget woes will force shutdown of River Street homeless shelter next month
The River Street facility, located on the campus of Housing Matters, is set to close May 1, with its occupants to be moved into permanent housing or to other shelters. Still, the move is raising concerns.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
DERAIL TRAIL: Biz plan for passenger train next to bike path falls short, putting project’s future in doubt
A tie vote Thursday means that Regional Transportation Commission staff — at least for now — won’t be directed to seek federal or state funding for electric passenger rail along the coastal corridor. But the issue is expected to resurface next month.
Posted inLatest News
Newsom green lights more firefighting resources: What that means for fire-ravaged Santa Cruz County
In Santa Cruz County, the funding announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday will supplement current staffing levels by adding a Watsonville-based seasonal crew from the California Conservation Corps
Posted inPolitics & Policy
With COVID-related funding to end, county allots $8 million for ‘rehousing wave,’ but not without questions
County Supervisor Manu Koenig is questioning the county’s “rapid rehousing” effort, saying “I’d much rather be paying people who are building housing, or for housing supply itself, rather than paying a bunch of people sitting behind desks.”
Posted inPandemic Life
Seeking ‘safety & community’: College minister forms local Asian American group, plans vigil to grieve, heal
In the wake of the Atlanta-area shootings, Stephanie Cheung took to social media to organize a group for Santa Cruz’s Asian American community. On Saturday, the new group is holding a vigil at the county administrative building to gather in solidarity for the victims in Georgia and Asian American elders who have been attacked and killed.
Posted inCoast Life
Rail Trail update: Biz plan reveals funding gaps, potential private partnerships. Debate? Status quo
The draft business plan out Wednesday comes after the Regional Transportation Commission approved electric passenger rail as the “preferred transit option” alongside a recreation path in the coastal corridor. It outlines potential funding sources and implementation plans and will go before the RTC on April 1.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz County moves forward with creation of in-house public defender’s office by summer 2022
The county Board of Supervisors also signed off on adding a full-time public defender job to be funded in the next fiscal year, which runs July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. That means a lead public defender should be in place by fall to begin laying the groundwork for the in-house office.