Surfers, lawmakers push back against proposal to expand marine protections in Santa Cruz County
Shawn Dollar, a born-and-bred Pleasure Point resident, is known around the globe as a big-wave surfer whose ability to navigate the intimidating swells of Mavericks and Cortes Bank has earned him trophies and world records.
Locally, Dollar sees himself and his children as part of a long lineage of recreational fishermen who cast lines and spear dive into the lush giant kelp forests off Pleasure Point. However, that lineage has come suddenly under threat by a petition to the state government to eliminate all fishing in the area as a means of preserving the kelp.
Dollar said he was “truly shocked” to hear about the petition, submitted by an environmental advocacy group. Now, he is fighting to preserve this piece of his culture by organizing opposition to the petition and trying to navigate the intimidating tides of local politics. In doing so, he has entered into a different lineage: that of fishermen fighting the government’s marine preservation regulations.
The petition, submitted to the state’s Fish and Game Commission, would establish a 3.2-square-mile state marine reserve off Pleasure Point. The same petition seeks to expand the Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve zone by another 13.7 square miles.
On March 19, the Fish and Game Commission’s Marine Resources Committee took the first step in this new process, and met in San Clemente to discuss its approach to sifting through the 20 petitions, which propose more than 80 changes to the marine protection areas. A week earlier, in the city of Santa Cruz, two local governments did their best to influence and oppose that trajectory.
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For Watsonville, it’s out with the new for its city manager
Nearing his two-year anniversary of accepting the job as Watsonville’s chief bureaucrat, Rene Mendez was the topic of conversation for two separate city councils Tuesday evening.
In Watsonville, the conversation was colored by loss as councilmembers met behind closed doors to discuss the departure of Mendez as their city manager and how they would fill his shoes. In Salinas, the atmosphere was more relief as councilmembers voted to formally hire Mendez as the city’s own top executive, ending an air of tumult that has surrounded the post for the past few months.
Councilmember Eduardo Montesino said Mendez’s decision surprised him, noting, “We had almost the same thing happen with the previous city manager, Matt Huffaker.” Yet Montesino said the decision must have been a “no-brainer” for Mendez considering the significant pay raise: a salary jump from $240,000 to $300,000.
Watsonville is moving through an era of rapid change, with visions of a more vibrant city center and thousands of more residents. Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter tells me the next city manager will have to be someone who can maintain this momentum that is years in the making.
Of Note
Watsonville votes a farewell to its airport runway: The choice in front of the Watsonville City Council last Tuesday was a look into the priorities and future vision of the city’s political leaders.
The fate of the Watsonville Municipal Airport’s crosswind runway sat before the council. The Federal Aviation Administration had, months ago, informed the city that the runway’s outdated design disqualified it for federal maintenance money. The city council was presented with a choice: shorten the runway (still allowing for some traffic), or say goodbye altogether.
The crosswind runway, running west-northwest to east-southeast, was installed as an alternative landing spot for when winds are blowing across the main runway.
Air traffic hazard laws make land around airport runways undevelopable for housing. Shortening the runway would have opened up some opportunities to develop the city’s Buena Vista and North Freedom areas; eliminating the runway would create even more.
Buena Vista, to the north and west of the airport, could see 2,350 units and 60,000 square feet of commercial space with a shortening; eliminating the runway would open space for another 350 units. Saying goodbye to the runway would bump North Freedom, northeast of the airport, from 484 new housing units to 850, and 270,000 square feet of commercial space to 480,000 square feet.
By the narrowest of margins, the city council voted 4-3 to eliminate the runway, with Councilmembers Jimmy Dutra, Ari Parker and Casey Clark voting against. Dutra said he didn’t feel comfortable removing a “safety net” for “freak winds.” He also noted the rise of local aerospace company Joby, and how keeping the runway could mean opportunities to work with it in the future.
Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter said the decision was clear to her, considering the city is being called on by the state to permit more than 2,050 new housing units by 2031.
“We have to have housing … The choice between the opportunity growth mindset … and the scarcity mindset, when I look at it through that frame, the option is clear,” Quiroz-Carter said.
Coonery joins leadership nonprofit: Ryan Coonerty has a new gig as the executive director of Leadership Santa Cruz County.
The former Santa Cruz mayor and county supervisor will helm the nonprofit, which trains community leaders on the workings of local government, small business, health care, education and other industries. He replaces interim director Dave Vincent.
Since leaving the board of supervisors at the end of 2022, Coonerty has served as senior intergovernmental affairs advisor to San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. He also lectures at UC Santa Cruz and Cal State Monterey Bay and is co-host of a podcast about Democratic politics. — Tamsin McMahon
Looking Ahead
Cruz Hotel: The Santa Cruz City Council will consider approving a laundry list of permits needed to construct the 232-room hotel and its associated facilities on six parcels at the corner of Front and Laurel streets. The city’s planning commission approved the project unanimously, with one commissioner absent, on Feb. 15, pushing it to the city council for its approval. The project has met with public opposition, as some community members say the city needs affordable housing instead of a new hotel.
Rail trail: The board of supervisors will consider approving another two sections of the Coastal Rail Trail — 10 and 11, which span from 17th Avenue in Santa Cruz to just past Soquel Creek — along with an agreement with Caltrans. Staff is recommending that the board ask the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission to pay for the project as there is no funding in the county budget to fill a shortfall caused by cost increases.
Capitola: The city council will vote on a staff recommendation that the mayor sign a letter of opposition to the U.S. Coast Guard’s potential removal of the “Mile Buoy,” which some locals argue provides an important role in ocean navigation and safety.
—Max Chun
Weekly News Diet
Local: It took a jury just over an hour to find John Frederick Burke guilty of first-degree murder in the November 2022 stabbing death of Neoklis Koumides in a downtown Santa Cruz parking lot. My colleague Max Chun, who has been on this story since the beginning, has the latest.
Golden State: By the skin of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s very white teeth, his Proposition 1 passed with support from 50.2% of voters. Now, California has $6.4 billion to spend on the programs Newsom has, for years, been propping up to address mental health and homelessness. Counties, however, will be forced to dedicate more of their tax revenue toward homelessness programs. It’s a mandate that has made some jurisdictions uneasy. With Prop 1 now firmly part of California’s future, CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener has an excellent and fresh explainer on what it means for residents.
National: As the polls narrow between Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, the impact of third-party candidates such as professor Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy could swing the election. This has become an increasing concern, namely for Democrats. Their answer? A team of lawyers tasked with tracking the rogue candidates in swing states, to, as one of the attorneys said, “ensure all the candidates are playing by the rules.”
One Great Vintage Read
Cat People: What Dr. Seuss really taught us, by Louis Menand for The New Yorker (2002)
This week, I reach way back into the archives to share this essay by critic Louis Menand, who guides us to a story we all know but attempts to answer questions few of us thought to ask: Why did the young protagonists’ mother leave them home alone in the middle of the day under the supervision of a fish? What was the cat attempting to distract them, and us, from? How did such a simple children’s rhyme make such a cultural impact?
Menand argues that “The Cat in the Hat” is, at its foundation, a political invention, born not just out of an accelerating Cold War but also a battleground around children’s education and the debate over the most effective form of reading instruction. The success of Seuss’ book is also a story of timing, and the power of the baby boomer generation to decide which art and products became cultural cargo and which were disregarded as jetsam.
