Hello there! It’s Wednesday, June 17, and the forecast calls for a cooldown around Santa Cruz County, with more clouds than sun for some of us, and highs in just the 60s at our beaches, around 80 in the warmer mountain areas.
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With the county already tapping into its reserves to offset a big budget deficit, staff are scrambling to come up with a solution to fill a funding gap for the public defender’s office, Tania Ortiz reports. This comes after the board of supervisors rejected a proposal to end a longstanding contract with a local law firm and create what’s known as an alternate public defender’s office.
Wednesday means local business from Jessica M. Pasko, and her weekly column includes a milestone for Santa Cruz-based crowdfunding site Climatize, an anniversary for the Santa Cruz Warriors, upheaval among Pajaro Valley apple farmers and plenty more.
With the vote count nearly over from the June 2 primary election, the candidates for Santa Cruz mayor are looking ahead to November’s run-off, Max Chun reports. Ami Chen Mills and Ryan Coonerty both say they plan to reach more voters to continue garnering support in the coming months — after some rest, of course.
To those hump-day headlines …
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Santa Cruz County scrambles to close public defender funding gap after supervisors split on cost-cutting plan
In a tough budget year, Santa Cruz County is proposing to create an alternate public defender’s office to help reduce costs and maintain its holistic defense model, which connects clients with social workers and services. The move, however, would end a longstanding contract with a local law firm. Tania Ortiz has the story.
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Santa Cruz-based crowdfunding site, Sea Dubs mark milestones; next steps for Pajaro Valley apple growers
In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko notes highlights for Climatize and the Santa Cruz Warriors, what South County farmers are hearing in the wake of bad news from Martinelli’s and plenty more comings, goings and dates to know. Read it all here.
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Thank you for reading – may your Wednesday be a good one.
Will McCahill