A murder case tests the limits of Santa Cruz County’s bail system
“The wheels of justice move slowly,” Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell told correspondent Christopher Neely about the case of Leif Ames, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to first-degree murder in the March 2020 stabbing death of his friend Hubert Cross.
A complex series of legal decisions has kept Ames out of pre-trial custody despite prosecutors’ repeated attempts to revoke his bail. The case has left the victim’s family questioning the fairness of a system that allows someone facing such serious charges to maintain a seemingly normal life while the court case crawls forward at a glacial pace.
In his final story for Lookout, Neely offers a troubling look inside the mechanics of the local criminal justice system. Ames’ case returns to court on Tuesday. — Tamsin McMahon
OF NOTE
New county leader: The board of supervisors launched a national search for a new county executive officer in June, following news that Carlos Palacios planned to retire at the end of the year. Last week, supervisors announced that they’d picked their next administrative leader: Nicole Coburn, who has served in the No. 2 position since 2017. The board is set to formally approve her appointment on Oct. 21, and she is expected to transition into the job through Dec. 5.
Sanctuary ordinance: Inspired by the ongoing debate over the use of license plate reader technology, Tania Ortiz writes, members of the county’s Latino Affairs Commission are working to encourage the board of supervisors to pass a binding local sanctuary ordinance to protect its immigrant community, modeled after one in the Southern California community of Huntington Park. The commission is set to take up the idea again at a Dec. 3 meeting. At least one supervisor said he is open to the idea, though he believes the proposal mirrors much of what the county has already pledged to do under a resolution passed earlier this year.
Mosquito fee: County property owners are voting on a proposed fee increase to pay for mosquito and vector control services. The issue has taken on a new urgency in recent weeks, Alonso Daboub writes, after a species of mosquito known to harbor yellow fever and other diseases was discovered in Boulder Creek, two years after county officials said they had eradicated the pest. Ballots are due by Nov. 4.
Capitola politics: It’s been a tumultuous year for the Capitola City Council, which has seen high turnover in its ranks of elected officials and a contentious vote over a section of the Coastal Rail Trail. Last Thursday, the council was set to vote on a plan to update its citizen complaint process after a dispute between a resident and Councilmember Melinda Orbach spilled out into public view. The vote to streamline the complaint process was bumped to Oct. 23, Max Chun writes, and the two sides told the city council meeting that they have made amends.
Battery storage safety: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a battery storage safety bill authored by local state Sen. John Laird that would require developers of such facilities to coordinate with local fire departments. The law takes effect Jan. 1, nearly a year after the Moss Landing facility fire. Supervisors are expected to hold their first hearing on a proposed South County battery storage facility next month, and the project’s developer is planning a presentation to the Watsonville City Council on Tuesday.
Tiny village money: Monterey County approved an additional $1 million last week to help complete a 34-unit housing project for the homeless at Watsonville’s Westview Presbyterian Church. The project, known as a tiny village, is scheduled to open in December and is being jointly planned by Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
POINTS FOR PARTICIPATION
No Kings 2.0: An estimated 14,500 people flooded the streets of Santa Cruz County in June as part of nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump. Organizers of the local events in Santa Cruz and Watsonville say they expect even more people to turn out for a sequel this Saturday. The protests are happening amid an extended federal government shutdown and efforts by the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops to several Democratic-run cities, including a stymied attempt to send the California National Guard to Portland, Oregon.
Paying for growth: When former California Gov. Jerry Brown killed redevelopment agencies in 2012, cities lost their primary tool for funding new infrastructure projects and affordable housing. Now the City of Santa Cruz is turning to a newer financing mechanism to help pay for infrastructure upgrades that will be needed for its ambitious plans to redevelop and expand large sections of the city’s downtown.
Over the past several months, the city has created a public financing authority that would oversee what’s known as an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District. The district, which must be approved by the city council, would cover 543 acres of downtown, including the area designated for the Downtown Plan Expansion, the Riverwalk along the San Lorenzo River, and the Soquel Avenue, Mission and Ocean Street corridors.
The city plans to dedicate half of all future property tax revenues generated by the neighborhoods included in the district over the next 45 years to help pay for services like affordable housing, flood protection, public parks and transit upgrades — a process known as tax-increment financing.
Critics have warned that such districts can strain budgets by diverting tax growth to specific neighborhoods and projects. However, city leaders point to the 3,100 new housing units expected to be built in the neighborhoods covered by the district and argue that such growth will be enough to fund the district, with some left over to help pay for other citywide programs. If approved after public hearings this winter, Santa Cruz’s district would join dozens of such districts being explored across the state.
The public financing authority is set to hear a presentation on Thursday from consultant Kosmont Companies Inc. and plans to schedule the first public meetings on the proposed new district starting Dec. 4, with a final city council vote expected in February 2026. — Tamsin McMahon
Battery storage presentation: On Tuesday, the Watsonville City Council will hear a presentation on the 200-megawatt battery storage facility being proposed just outside of the city by Massachusetts-based developer New Leaf Energy. The project, which has an application pending with the county, has garnered a lot of attention following a massive fire at a battery storage facility in Moss Landing earlier this year. — Tania Ortiz
Labor agreements: At the same meeting, Watsonville elected officials will vote on whether to move forward with making amendments to the city’s project labor agreement ordinance, which determines pre-hire collective bargaining agreements for public works projects over $600,000. City staff argue that the current ordinance is “outdated” and impacts the city’s ability to bid and complete certain projects. The city council meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. — Tania Ortiz
Rispin Mansion: For more than a decade, the City of Capitola has slowly chipped away at plans to create a public park at the historic Rispin Mansion site on the banks of Soquel Creek. Though the mansion has been more or less deserted since the mid-1950s, the vision for a park at the mansion site includes big ideas such as the restoration of its grand staircase, gardens and an amphitheater.
The city has worked with a contractor to put together a project that is within the city’s budget, but one feature, a public art mosaic reflecting pool, is not funded. That project would take the existing 800-square-foot pool and turn it into a mosaic designed by a local artist that reflects the city’s vibe and culture.
Jessica Kahn, the city’s public works director, applied for a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Grants for Arts Projects program. If awarded, it will go toward the mosaic’s design and installation. The Art and Cultural Commission is recommending $25,000 from the city’s public art fund to go toward the project.
The Art and Cultural Commission will discuss this at its Tuesday meeting, where it may establish a budget and develop a formal call for an artist. It would then head to the city council for review. — Max Chun
Harvey West Park: The 45-acre community park at the edge of the forest has just about everything from sports fields to picnic areas, but many of the amenities have seen better days. Last June, the City of Santa Cruz began working with San Francisco-based CMG Landscape Architecture to evaluate existing facilities and plan for improvements.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission will hear some recommendations at its meeting later Monday, but is not expected to vote on them. Those include installing a central lawn area, adding artificial turf to Fields 2 through 6 to accommodate more games and matches, especially in rainy seasons, and possibly removing or relocating some longstanding features such as the old steam engine, stage coach house and Native American-themed totem pole, and constructing a new community center with a gym, pool and indoor rental space. — Max Chun