We meet again, Santa Cruz County. (Or if it’s your first time, welcome and thanks for reading!) It’s Tuesday, June 24, and the summer weather pattern continues – morning fog, afternoon sun, temperatures from the 60s to the low 80s.
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Christopher Neely sat down Monday with Carlos Palacios, hearing from Santa Cruz County’s chief executive on his eight-year tenure and his decision to retire at year’s end for the latest in our Lookout Q&A series.
Hillary Ojeda covers the latest from the county’s civil grand jury, which in a report released Monday ripped the county’s building permitting process as “exasperating.” Among its recommendations was that the board of supervisors reinstate an independent appeals body it disbanded 15 years ago.
The Watsonville City Council is set to vote Tuesday on its biennial budget plan, Tania Ortiz reports, as it tries to head off a budget deficit in the coming years. Eliminating vacant city jobs and increasing fees at public facilities are among what’s under consideration.
Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section features a pair of op-eds this morning. In one, state Sen. John Laird writes about the late Mike Rotkin: “Mike was the definition of the word mensch. He was my political partner for almost 50 years. I will miss him every day.” In the other, public health professional Kevin Norton writes that the county must expand trauma screening, particularly when it comes to helping unhoused residents.
Let’s check out those headlines.
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‘It takes over your life’: County CEO Carlos Palacios on duty, disaster and the decision to step down
After more than eight years leading Santa Cruz County through disasters, budget battles and political shifts, CEO Carlos Palacios prepares to retire, reflecting on service, sacrifice — and what comes next. Read Christopher Neely’s Q&A with Palacios here.
County building permit process ‘costly, time-consuming, and exasperating,’ watchdog says
A Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury report criticizes the county’s building permit process as excessively costly, slow and confusing. The report urges sweeping changes including simplified requirements, expanded public assistance and restoration of an independent appeals board. More here from Hillary Ojeda.
DAILY DIGEST
The Lookout news train keeps chugging right along, and among what’s ahead is a fresh helping of Lily Belli on Food, just one of Lookout’s library of newsletters and breaking news alerts you can sign up for here. You can of course keep up with our award-winning coverage by following Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky, and take it all with you by downloading the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
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Have a super Tuesday!
Will McCahill