Hundreds of county residents could lose housing under Trump’s spending bill
If I had to excavate a nonpartisan silver lining amid the whirlwinds of the past five months, I’d probably point to the fact that many people seem more aware of how money flows out of our pockets to the federal government and down into programs that have a direct impact on people’s quality of life.
Those programs often mean the most for people who have the least. The example on my mind this week is President Donald Trump’s proposed 43% cut to federal housing assistance programs, such as those that provide Section 8 vouchers, and the impact it could have on Santa Cruz County’s most vulnerable.
As of March, more than 5,300 people in Santa Cruz County were leasing homes with the help of Section 8 vouchers, with an average monthly subsidy of $2,188. The Housing Authority of Santa Cruz County — the government arm responsible for administering the federal program — had an annual budget of $149.2 million, all financed through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Trump administration’s spending plan, which received a green light from the House of Representatives last week, would not touch housing vouchers held by veterans; however, people enrolled in child and family welfare programs, families exiting homelessness, and the disabled and medically vulnerable who receive vouchers would be impacted, said Robert Ratner, the director of the county’s housing for health department.
The contours of these changes are still being figured out. But Ratner said it could have severe consequences for the contingent of county residents who have, for decades, relied on the federal government’s assistance.
“If history is any indication, this would likely contribute to significant rises in homelessness,” Ratner told me last week. People who are housed today, he said, are at risk of losing that housing in the future.
The Senate still needs to approve the spending plan, and Trump still needs to sign it. As this all moves forward, my colleagues and I will be paying close attention. I urge you all to do the same.
OF NOTE
Seeking interim city councilmember for Capitola: Capitola began accepting applications Tuesday as the city searches for an interim city councilmember who can fill the seat vacated by Alex Pedersen earlier this month. On Thursday, the remaining four councilmembers unanimously agreed to host an open application process instead of holding a special election. Interested applicants have until only next Tuesday, June 3, to submit their paperwork. The city council will vote to appoint someone on June 12.
Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill sours county lawmakers: Santa Cruz County faces deep cuts to health and housing programs as state and federal budget proposals threaten critical funding, compounding local strains such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s $90 million unpaid disaster tab. During a hearing last week, Supervisor Manu Koenig (District 1) called the erosion of the social safety net “insane.”
One can be diplomatic for only so long: After Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announced he was ousting Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings from the powerful California Coastal Commission in favor of a development-friendly Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez, Cummings walked a calm, professional line in discussing his disappointment, and even warned against hasty political presumptions.
That diplomatic armor showed a crack on Tuesday. Leading off his monthly newsletter under the subhead “Building bridges gets you booted, apparently,” Cummings said he was “deeply disappointed” with Rivas’ decision, and said there was “a clear difference in political ideologies between those who supported my reappointment and the Speaker’s priorities.”
POINTS FOR PARTICIPATION
Santa Cruz, Capitola unveil their budget proposals for 2025-26: Capitola has a general fund budget — funded primarily through city residents and visitors — of $21.1 million; Santa Cruz’s sits at $158.3 million. Both cities’ budgets have grown since 2024-25, but both foresee an imbalance in the coming years, as spending could outpace revenues. The Santa Cruz City Council will hear a presentation on its budget Tuesday, and the Capitola City Council will get a look at its budget on Thursday.
Watsonville puts an eye on, and wallets behind, Ramsay Park and the downtown plaza: The Watsonville City Council will be considering a proposal to spend no more than $13 million in bond money to help fund Ramsay Park and downtown City Plaza renovation projects. That meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. – Tania Ortiz
ONE GREAT READ
Where have all my deep male friendships gone? By Sam Graham-Felsen for The New York Times Magazine
Who doesn’t love a vulnerable essay about the personal manifestations of the growing trends of male loneliness? Typically, I would raise my hand to that question. Yet, on Sunday, I sat along the window bar at the Verve in downtown Santa Cruz and cracked open the New York Times Magazine and became totally engrossed in this essay by Sam Graham-Felsen.
Graham-Felsen, a father, husband and New York-based writer, takes us through a winding story as he tracks how, to his surprise, he became a data point in the loneliness epidemic. He goes into places a more armored writer might not — such as a self-analysis on how the self-improvement podcastsphere became a crutch, and his obsession with veteran, ultramarathoner and Joe Rogan podcast staple David Goggins became a distraction to the inner work required of him.