Jill Biden mysteriously cancels Santa Cruz appearance
When President Joe Biden visited Santa Cruz County following the 2023 winter storms, residents responded with pure fanfare. People skipped work and lined the streets with thank-you signs, and parents took their children out of school just for a chance to see the presidential motorcade speed down Highway 1. Amid the wreckage of natural disasters that reshaped swaths of the county, enthusiasm followed Biden from his steps off Air Force One at the Watsonville airport, to the Capitola wharf and back again.
In the nearly three years since, the Biden aura has shifted — dramatically. People have increasingly laid the blame for President Donald Trump’s second term at the feet of Biden and his decision to seek reelection despite his advanced age and mental decline. Books, including a recent memoir by former vice president Kamala Harris, have also criticized Biden’s inner circle, including his wife, Jill, for trying to hide the reality of his health from the American people and other political leaders.
Given all of this, I was curious to see how our community would receive Jill Biden during her scheduled appearance at Santa Cruz’s Kaiser Permanente Arena this Saturday. Resentment? Contempt? Reverence? Forgiveness?
We will never know.
“An Evening with Dr. Jill Biden” has been canceled, and the reason why remains a mystery. The Santa Cruz Warriors basketball organization, host of the appearance, billed Jill’s speaking appearance as a “historic event” and began selling tickets in July.
Rumors have swirled. One solid source told me low ticket sales were to blame; others wondered whether the abrupt cancellation had to do with increased security concerns. The event was canceled one day after the public assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Chris Murphy, president of the Santa Cruz Warriors, denied that security concerns were to blame. He told Lookout “there were some unforeseen circumstances,” but declined to offer more detail.
“I’m not going to get into why,” Murphy said on the phone last week. “We don’t have to go into details with the public on every decision we make as an organization.”
Peggy Flynn, co-president of the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County, said she had also reached out to Murphy after she fielded several confused calls and emails about the cancellation. Murphy told Flynn he “wasn’t sharing details at the request of the Biden relationship.”
OF NOTE
Scotts Valley’s first affordable housing project in decades comes at a significant cost, according to the mayor: The Workbench-led housing development along Scotts Valley Drive obtained permits last year through a state program that allowed the developer to skip the typical public approval track. In the process, what Mayor Derek Timm said was a prime office building was demolished to make room for the development.
Watsonville leaders say Flock expansion won’t undermine sanctuary city policy: Earlier this month, the Watsonville City Council overwhelmingly voted to expand its police surveillance despite growing concerns that the data collected through its Flock Safety cameras could be accessed by federal immigration agents. Watsonville officials have since rejected the idea that the city’s police surveillance and commitment to protect its immigrant community are at odds with one another.
POINTS FOR PARTICIPATION
County’s Commission on the Environment to make recommendation on battery storage policy: The effort by county officials to develop a battery storage system policy has attracted intense skepticism since the battery facility in Moss Landing erupted into flames earlier this year. Now, the county’s Commission on the Environment is scheduled to make a recommendation to county lawmakers on whether to pursue battery storage as part of the county’s larger goals to expand its reliance on clean energy and slow climate change. The commission meets on Wednesday at 5 p.m. inside the Watsonville Public Library. However, the supervisors might not make a final decision on how to treat battery storage systems until next summer.
Another push to remove another Capitola lawmaker: On Thursday, the Capitola City Council will deliberate over whether to take seriously a citizen complaint against rookie Councilmember Melinda Orbach. In July, resident Kevin Maguire submitted a code of conduct complaint after Orbach accused him, by name, of harassment and threatening behavior toward her. The city council will decide whether to throw out the complaint or put it on a future agenda to consider disciplinary action, such as censure or removing her from committees. Capitola has already seen one city councilmember resign following a public pressure campaign.
Homelessness in South County: The Watsonville City Council is looking to adopt the city’s first homelessness action plan at its meeting Tuesday. The plan, developed in collaboration with residents and local nonprofits, will outline the city’s approach to addressing its homelessness issue. The city council meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. – Tania Ortiz
ONE GREAT READ
Your first call after you shoot someone | By Rachel Monroe for The New Yorker
Across the country, insurance against natural disasters is increasingly difficult to come by. Yet, as New Yorker writer Rachel Monroe reports, self-defense insurance for gun owners is a growing business opportunity.
For a monthly fee, typically under $50, gun owners who use their weapon to injure someone can have access to a team of attorneys who specialize in gun laws and self-defense, which came in handy for Lyman Davis, a central Texas resident who shot and killed his friend in 2019.
Critics call it “murder insurance,” but industry professionals say the gun owners who take advantage of it are simply accessing their rights.