The 2024 that was, and the 2025 to be
Good morning, and happy holidays to you and yours. What I’ve come to love most about this season is its ability to force me out of my routines and into a more reflective pace, how it slows down the typical march of progress and affords some space to consider the life I’m living and all the time that’s passed. I hope regular readers of this newsletter, the civically engaged bunch that you are, find time this week to put down the news (after reading this edition, of course), recharge, and reflect on the year that was, and the year to come.
In a story out today, I did a bit of the latter in trying to pinpoint the big themes of the new year. Using a broad but nuanced brush, Lookout managing editor Tamsin McMahon and I came up with four landmark issues, interests and curiosities that help set the table for what we expect to be a loaded 2025.
Later in the week, you will see stories on Zach Friend’s plans for his third act as he steps off the county supervisor’s dais and into civilian life, for now, at least. In an interview last week, Friend told me that, on his opportunities rubric, the most weighted criteria is whether he can explain the work to his 10-year-old son, and whether, after understanding it, his son can be proud. Trying to define our work in terms so simple a child can grasp it seems like a good exercise in grounding.
I know the November election feels like ages ago, but we are also working on publishing a set of maps that can help visualize our local election results, particularly how different parts of the county sided on several state ballot propositions around rent control, crime and punishment, and minimum wage, as well as where Measure Z, the city of Santa Cruz’s soda tax, found the most support.
One last note: I will be taking Dec. 30 off, so this marks the final newsletter of 2024, the first full calendar year of In the Public Interest. Thank you to everyone who has interacted with it, sent feedback and offered story tips. The point and joy of this medium is the opportunity to engage directly with, and grow, Santa Cruz County’s civic community.
In 2025, I encourage you all to consider this less as a report sent to your inboxes on Mondays and more as my initiating a conversation with you. I love hearing from readers and discussing the issues of the day, whether through email, on the phone, or over coffee. I hope to do more of that in the coming year.
OF NOTE
Trying to get ahead of the Trump administration’s deportation operation, Santa Cruz County affirms “sanctuary county” status: President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history has unnerved many in Santa Cruz County, where undocumented immigrants make up a significant portion of the agriculture and construction economy. Last Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to claim “sanctuary county” status, which means it won’t be using any resources to assist federal immigration agents who might come to town as part of a deportation mission. The resolution also directs county staff to review policies and ensure immigration status does not block a person from receiving county services.
Supervisors take the oath of office: Incoming county supervisors Monica Martinez and Kim De Serpa will be sworn in to their four-year terms today at 2 p.m. inside the board chambers at the county building. The ceremony will kick off a new era for a board of supervisors that looks much different than the all-male, all-white dais that called the county’s shots just four years ago.
County boards and city councils celebrate holidays, too: Outside of the supervisors’ swearing-in, all major local political bodies are off this week, to return in January. All of the major local political boards are off this week.
Workbench’s Clocktower Center returns with half the height but the same scrutiny: Last week, I reported that local developer Workbench reintroduced its controversial Clocktower Center proposal to the community during a virtual meeting on Dec. 16. The project, which has shrunk from 16 stories and 260 units to eight stories and 221 units, continues to rankle some residents who say the project is out of scale with their long-held ideals of Santa Cruz. Others, however, said they preferred the tower version.
Watsonville councilmember Jimmy Dutra says he plans to appeal $1.1 million civil sex abuse judgment: Jimmy Dutra was reelected to the Watsonville City Council with 55% of the vote last month despite a campaign overshadowed by a civil lawsuit alleging Dutra had sexually assaulted family friend Stephen Siefke in 2005 when Siefke was 12 years old and Dutra was 30. In September, a jury sided with Siefke, awarding him more than $1.1 million in damages. On Friday, Dutra announced plans to appeal the judgment and said he was on the hunt for new legal counsel. The councilmember has long maintained that the lawsuit, filed in 2022 when he was running for county supervisor, was fueled by a family dispute over money and politics. Read more from Max Chun here. — Tamsin McMahon
ONE GREAT READ
‘Very few have balls’: How American news lost its nerve, by Max Tani for Semafor
This article, from March, came across my desk recently and touches on something I had been thinking about for much of the year: the effect the increasingly litigious power class has on the willingness of journalism outfits to seek truth and report it. On this topic, my thoughts this year revolved largely around the reshaping of documentaries, something the article’s author touches on. The PR machine has never been stronger, and documentaries, more and more, seem to require tradeoffs of access for control, something legendary director Ken Burns has rejected as “certainly not the way you do history.”
“The Hollywood Reporter noted that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s company co-produced ‘Harry & Meghan’ for Netflix,” Max Tani writes. “Over on Apple TV+, Billie Eilish’s record label produced ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry’, while Selena Gomez’s management company co-produced a documentary about her. Disney+ paid more than $30 million in 2022 for an Elton John documentary co-directed by John’s husband.” As Tani says later, “The result is that the last word often goes to the highest bidder, the most powerful person, or the biggest celebrity — rather than to someone trying to be a neutral arbiter.”
Money and power obfuscating truth is a tale as old as journalism itself. However, today, as social media and the internet democratize the channels of distribution (not inherently negative), the wealthy and powerful can engage directly with the public and their fans, with great control over the narrative. Followers of LeBron James’ Instagram might get access to some intimate places such as the locker room or the inside of his limousine en route to a game. But it’s no closer to the truth — just as the White House press corps “breaking” news out of a media release or news conference is hardly anything besides an official update released by the powers that be.
Tension is inherent in truth-seeking. Pushing through that tension requires a certain tenacity that all journalists and documentarians need in order to properly do their job. At Lookout, we are working to build a culture that prioritizes this enterprising attitude, which is the legacy of American journalism. And we are looking forward to a very busy 2025.