Happy hump day, all,
It was yet another beautiful day here in Santa Cruz. The official start of summer may still be a little way away, but the weather is giving us an early taste. Be sure to get out to the beach before it gets too crowded!
Really quickly, another reminder about our next event.
Next Wednesday, May 25, from 7 p.m. to 8:25 p.m., we will be co-hosting a discussion on affordable housing with Housing Santa Cruz County. Learn how each community is grappling with housing issues and hear from Santa Cruz County leaders on their plans for the present and future. Click the image to register!
And now, for the news …
Measure B: County Transient Occupancy Tax explained
Taxing tourism: Proponents view the measure as an opportunity to use the large tourism revenue stream to fund essential services vital to the community’s well-being, but some in the hospitality industry see the industry split as unfair. Get the details here.
➤ YOUR JUNE 7 CHEATSHEET: Santa Cruz County primary election 2022 guide
‘Not everybody gets to live in a beach town’: Realtors on what’s ‘getting worse’ in Santa Cruz real estate
Worrying trends: Suddenly rising interest rates have thrown a new wrench into the plans of prospective home buyers. Can it get any worse? We asked a pair of real estate agents, veteran Kelley Trousdale and relative newcomer Rebecca Wallace. Read the whole Q&A by Grace here.
➤ PREVIOUSLY: How many homes are for sale in Santa Cruz County? Just 130 — one of the lowest numbers in 10 years
Santa Cruz winemakers face a bottled-up glass supply
More shortages: Get ready for odd-shaped wine bottles, higher prices — and maybe more reusable bottles, like Sones Cellars has pioneered in Santa Cruz. The culprit: Yes, it’s the supply chain, choked up around glass manufacturing and distribution. Lily has the details.
➤ PREVIOUSLY: Glass shortage spells the end of innovative Kitchen Witch Bone Broth
County closing last two COVID-driven Project Roomkey shelters
Shutting down: Project Roomkey provided shelter to more than 1,000 people in Santa Cruz County as a response to pandemic homeless needs. By the end of June, the county will close the last two of its six shelters — with most, but not all, of the residents placed in other housing. Grace has the story.
➤ PREVIOUSLY: As Project Roomkey comes to an end, work continues to find permanent housing for the most vulnerable
Column: Here’s why the arguments against canceling student debt make no sense
In support: Canceling student debt isn’t unfair to those who have already paid off their loans. And it isn’t a giveaway to the rich, either. More from the LA Times here.
- Insurance Sales Agency Manager at Farmers Insurance – Pedro Gonzalez Insurance Agency, Inc
- Marketing & Communications Director at Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley
- Executive Director at Grey Bears
- Government Relations Manager at Central California Alliance for Health
- Organizer at COPA (Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action)
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More from here & elsewhere
➤Arsonist who started Dolan Fire in Big Sur sentenced to prison (KSBW)
➤ Local sixth-grader heads to national Invention Convention (Pajaronian)
➤ Santa Cruz Sherrif’s Office arrests woman suspected of selling vapes, alcohol and edibles to minors (KION)
➤ California public schools get whopping $128.3 billion under Newsom’s budget proposal (Mercury)
➤ New problem at San Francisco’s still-sinking Millennium Tower means it may be forever tilting (SF Gate)
➤ Gas prices hit $4 a gallon in all 50 states for the first time (NBC)
… That about does it for today. On to the second half of the work week! Until tomorrow, take care.
Max Chun
Correspondent