Good morning, Santa Cruz County. Tuesday, Feb. 24, has dawned, and a bit of rain is in the forecast – arriving in the afternoon and evening – as we warm into the mid-60s.
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Hillary Ojeda reports on more turmoil in Live Oak School District, where the most recent meeting of the governing board not only saw a number of teacher and staff cuts but also the resignation of Superintendent Pat Sánchez. The layoffs are equivalent of nearly 11 jobs, including six teachers and one mental health clinician.
There was no decision last night on rezoning of the Capitola Mall, Max Chun reports, as the Capitola City Council pushed a decision to March so councilmembers have more time to digest a flurry of requests and new information from the mall’s San Francisco-based owner. “The Capitola Mall is the largest piece of property in town that we’re going to look at as far as being developed, and we’ve gotten a lot of information tonight,” said Councilmember Susan Westman. “I think we’re going to have to take a little time to digest that.”
The Watsonville City Council is set to hear a proposal to extend term limits at its meeting later today, Tania Ortiz reports. Councilmember Eduardo Montesino’s plan would up the number of consecutive four-year terms from two to three.
And in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section, traffic safety is the topic for Kevin Norton. The Santa Cruz activist argues that traffic deaths aren’t accidents, but the result of street design prioritizing cars over people, and calls on both elected leaders and the community to move faster on Vision Zero, the commitment to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries entirely.
To the Tuesday headlines …
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Live Oak superintendent resigns, school board approves cutting 6 teachers, mental health clinician, more staff
Live Oak School District’s superintendent announced his resignation effective June 30 as the school board approved nearly 11 staff reductions — including six teachers and a mental health clinician — to address a structural budget deficit driven by declining enrollment and rising costs. The cuts, part of multiple rounds of layoffs since 2024, drew emotional testimony from educators and parents who warned of worsening morale, diminished student services and long-term harm to the district’s reputation. More here from Hillary Ojeda.
Capitola City Council pushes mall zoning code vote to March
The Capitola City Council delayed a vote on zoning code updates for the Capitola Mall site to March in order to wade through last-minute information and new requests from the mall’s owner. The vote is currently scheduled for March 16. Max Chun has the latest.
DAILY DIGEST
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Have a good Tuesday, and thank you for reading.
Will McCahill