Wednesday, June 24, has dawned around Santa Cruz County, under cloudy skies that, per usual the usual summer drill, should clear as the day goes on, giving us sun and temperatures from the 60s to mid-80s.
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Kevin Painchaud caught up with the Aptos surfer seen in a viral video being circled by a great white shark off Seascape earlier this month. “It was like this big ominous figure that kind of was flanking me, and then the dead giveaway was this huge dorsal fin,” Max Eder says. “It was maybe a foot and a half away, 2 feet tops.”
Ahead of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors’ final hearing Wednesday on a belt-tightening budget for the next fiscal year, Tania Ortiz reports that county staff look to have come up with a fix for a $1.1 million funding gap for the public defender’s office. The solution includes shifting money from other departments, such as the probation department and the Health Services Agency.
Jessica M. Pasko has her weekly look around local business, including a proposed new policy regarding leases of city-owned property that’s set to come before the Capitola City Council this week. Tenants including Capitola Boat & Bait, on the wharf, worry that if the policy is passed, they’d have to bid for the properties they’ve long occupied – and that could price them out.
To the headlines …
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Aptos surfer recounts great white shark encounter caught on viral drone video
An Aptos surfer whose close encounter with a great white shark went viral is sharing what happened from his perspective, including the moment he realized a drone hovering overhead was trying to warn him of danger. Here’s what Kevin Painchaud heard.
County finds creative multidepartment fix to close $1.1 million public defender budget gap ahead of final hearing
Ahead of a third budget hearing Wednesday, Santa Cruz County staff have found a potential solution to fill a $1.1 million funding gap for the public defender’s office after a proposal to create an in-house alternate office was rejected. Tania Ortiz has the latest.
➤ MORE COVERAGE: County contract with Arts Council on chopping block amid tough budget year; MAH funding cuts also proposed
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Thanks for reading, and have an excellent Wednesday.
Will McCahill