Good morning to you, readers. It’s Wednesday, Jan. 14, and Santa Cruz County’s excellent weather stretch continues, with another day of sunshine and temperatures forecast to hit the mid-70s in our warmest mountain locales.
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Tuesday was a big news day around the county, and our team was on it. The Santa Cruz City Council voted to end the city’s contract with Flock Safety, Max Chun reports, citing data breaches and privacy concerns. “The question isn’t whether we trust our own intent or even our own officers’ intent. It’s whether we can guarantee our data won’t be used in ways that conflict with Santa Cruz values and create fear in our community,” said Councilmember Susie O’Hara. “Right now, we do not believe we can, and that is why termination is necessary.”
Meanwhile, a county battery storage ordinance is closer to becoming law after supervisors voted to move it ahead to environmental review, Tania Ortiz reports. The latest step in what will still be a lengthy process drew opposition from community members hoping for stronger rules.
The Murray Street Bridge will reopen for one-way traffic by month’s end, Lily Belli reports, about a month ahead of the scheduled timeline. The exact date and other details are still to be ironed out as the lengthy retrofit project that has disrupted business and traffic on both sides of the Santa Cruz Harbor moves along.
The deadly protests in Iran are weighing heavily on Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, who tells Grace Chinowsky that it’s been more than a week since she’s heard from relatives who remained there when she and her immediate family fled the country in 1984. “I feel helpless,” Kalantari-Johnson said. “There’s not much I can do right now, and that’s really not a great place to be in.”
The hump day headlines also include the latest in Santa Cruz County business from Jessica M. Pasko, including Joby Aviation expanding its manufacturing operations in Ohio and honors for UC Santa Cruz scientists – onward we go.
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Supervisors move battery storage rules forward to environmental review; some residents are disappointed
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve new regulations for battery storage facilities, despite opposition from residents who want a more stringent ordinance. The rules will now undergo environmental review. Here’s the latest from Tania Ortiz.
City council votes to end Santa Cruz’s contract with Flock Safety
The Santa Cruz City Council voted 6-1 to end the city’s contract with Flock Safety at its Tuesday meeting following data breaches, community pushback, and a recommendation from three councilmembers that the city pull out of the contract. Max Chun was on hand.
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What more does Wednesday hold? I’m not in the predictions business, but my advice would be to sign up here for breaking news alerts via email as Lookout’s coverage continues (check out all of our free newsletters while you’re there, too). You can also get breaking news notifications when you download the Lookout Santa Cruz app, available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, plus our award-winning mix of local news and views, games and more. And if you’re on social media, stay in the know by following Lookout on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
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Here’s to a good Wednesday for us all – thank you for reading.
Will McCahill