A quick note: I’m taking off this week and next, which means a hiatus for In the Public Interest on July 7. I will return to your inboxes on July 14.
What’s in a deadline?
In hectic, breathless moments, as I type against the clock, my editor asking me for overdue copy, I often find myself asking this question.
Of course, away from the disarray, the answer is self-evident. Without deadlines, productivity would wane, dramatically. Kevin Parker, the Australian musician behind the band Tame Impala, perhaps said it best: His art is never truly finished; he just runs out of time.
Today marks an important deadline in one of the more divisive aspects of one of the more divisive projects unfolding in Santa Cruz County.
In January 2024, the Regional Transportation Commission sent letters out to residents and the owners of two mobile home parks in Mid-County, alerting them that dozens of structures — from fences to parts of housing units — actually sit on RTC-owned land. And the RTC, motivated by its project to build a countywide rail and trail system that touches this area, demanded that the residents and park owners remove the structures by today, or the agency would do it and send them the bill.
Well, as of late last week, no structures have moved.
For one of the mobile home parks, Castle Mobile Estates in Capitola, the sides are debating whether any structures are legally required to be removed, while also discussing the creation of a fund to help pay for the removal. For the other park, Blue & Gold Star Mobile Home Park, RTC Executive Director Sarah Christensen said the sides have not communicated since the agency sent a letter with the June 30 deadline in January 2024.
Christensen told me last week that the conversations with Castle Mobile Estates have been productive. She said the RTC plans to continue the discussions and will not be heading out to the property on Tuesday to start removing structures. As for Blue & Gold Star, Christensen said the transportation agency is left with no choice but to file a lawsuit and legally compel the residents and park owner to get off its property.
As for the June 30 deadline, Christensen said it was necessary in order “to get things moving and get people serious about what needs to happen.” In order to secure a state grant for the project, Christensen said the RTC committed to breaking ground on the Mid-County trail section of the Coastal Rail Trail by the middle of 2026.
However, as I report in a story out today, whether those legal questions are resolved by then remains to be seen.
OF NOTE
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s turn from big band to big bland: Gone is the warm, welcoming neon signage of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Cocoanut Grove, after owner Seaside Company unveiled a rebrand that seemingly few, if any, asked for. One of Santa Cruz’s few statement facades now reads “The Grove – Santa Cruz Event Center” in an aesthetic so flat and efficient that it will likely only amplify the groans over the city’s perceived San Jose-ification. My colleague William S. Woodhams has that story.
A new future for Capitola Wharf: Capitola’s wharf, badly damaged by storms in 2023, is moving forward with plans for a new restaurant, permanent restrooms, a lifeguard station and market space. As William S. Woodham writes, Capitola’s city council unanimously supported the initial proposal last week. The final master plan will be presented this fall. — Tamsin McMahon
The high cost of safety-net health care: Santa Cruz County’s health agency’s long roster of high-cost patients has collided with a weak government management system, according to an investigation published by the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury last week. The grand jury recommends expanded partnerships and improved financial reporting. Although these reports are sometimes dismissed as the product of an amateur group of citizen watchdogs, this year’s grand jury is led by the former chief financial officer of Stanford Medicine Partners, Mike Weatherford.
A vow of action to overcome a “culture of no”: Among the county government’s many arms, none has received quite the same lashing over the years as the planning division, where critiques of the permitting process as burdensome and expensive abound. Last week, one day after the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury published an investigation into some of those complaints, county staffers outlined a three-year plan to turn the division’s reputation around into a “culture of yes.”
“It takes over your life”: Last week, I sat down with top county executive Carlos Palacios to discuss his decision to step down after more than eight years at the helm. His departure only accelerates a generational shift that has taken hold of county governance over the past two years.
POINTS FOR PARTICIPATION
A quiet start to July on all fronts: July is summer break for government panels across Santa Cruz County. The county’s board of supervisors and the city councils in Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Capitola and Scotts Valley are all off for at least the next three weeks. Though watch out for the board of supervisors schedule – if anything breaks with the federal budget, it is possible that the supervisors will have to reconvene in order to manage any local impacts. However, the federal budget isn’t expected to come into full focus until late summer or early fall.