G’day, Santa Cruz County. Wednesday, Sept. 10, is here, bringing with it continued, if slight, chances of showers, with more clouds than sun and temperatures forecast to top out just shy of 80 in our warmest locales.
TWO WEEKS FROM WEDNESDAY: With our partners at CalMatters, Lookout is hosting a screening of “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink,” a film that chronicles the damage caused by hedge fund ownership of once-proud community newspapers. The Sept. 24 event at the Del Mar Theatre in downtown Santa Cruz will be followed by a panel discussion and kicks off our fundraising efforts for Lookout’s fifth anniversary. Get your tickets and more info here.
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Tania Ortiz kicks off the headlines with news that the Watsonville City Council voted Tuesday night to renew its contract for license plate-reading cameras despite vocal opposition from community members worried that the Flock Safety surveillance system would undermine the city’s status as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants.
The Santa Cruz City Council, meanwhile, rejected an appeal of a planned six-story, student-focused housing development on Mission Street on the city’s Westside, Max Chun reports – despite widespread opposition from neighbors and what some councilmembers said was the city’s limited ability to address residents’ concerns.
County supervisors were meeting Tuesday, too, and as Christopher Neely reports, they agreed to pull roughly $400,000 out of an already depleted reserve to fund the county’s X-ray program through next June, though the county will outsource its blood draw services.
A county commission took Ben Lomond’s Alba Schoolhouse off its list of historic landmarks this week, Hillary Ojeda reports, but that’s not stopping a local group’s efforts to rebuild it after the schoolhouse was destroyed in the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire. “It’s going to take some time and effort,” one volunteer said. “But there’s a core group of people, putting in all this time and energy for the love of something that was really beautiful. We’re not willing to let it die.”
The Wednesday headlines also include Jessica M. Pasko’s weekly survey of Santa Cruz County business, including a new effort to connect four rural airports in the Monterey Bay region – Watsonville’s among them – to handle a new era of air traffic that includes electric air taxis and unmanned drones. Let’s have a look, shall we?
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Watsonville votes to expand use of controversial Flock license plate readers despite immigration fears
The Watsonville City Council voted Tuesday night to renew a two-year contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate readers and add 17 more cameras throughout the city. Nearly 50 community members filled the council chambers to voice concerns over immigration enforcement risks. Tania Ortiz was on hand.
Ben Lomond’s Alba Schoolhouse delisted as historic landmark, but rebuilding efforts continue
The historic Alba Schoolhouse in Ben Lomond was officially delisted from the county’s landmark inventory this week, but a dedicated group of volunteers is pushing forward with long-term plans to rebuild what was lost in the 2020 CZU fire. Read more from Hillary Ojeda.
DAILY DIGEST
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Thanks for reading – until we meet again.
Will McCahill