The high-stakes Newsom-DeSantis debate devolved into name-calling and arguing over facts — with the backdrop of the presidential campaign.
Election 2022
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Mayor Fred Keeley speaks about diagnosis
Mayor Fred Keeley speaks about diagnosis
Posted inPolitics & Policy
You are not ‘totally alone in this’: NAMI’s 40 years of working to support those living with mental illness
The organization on the front lines of mental health awareness, advocacy and education has been around for four decades, but the work has ratcheted up exponentially in recent years. Many of those helping shed the stigma are among those whose lives were suddenly upended by the tragic consequences of unchecked mental health conditions.
Posted inK-12 Education
Lookout Update: At swearing-in of retired-then-reelected Soquel school board trustee, parents speak out
Following a campaign that saw Soquel Union Elementary School District Area 4 trustee Phil Rodriguez retire, then be reelected, a group of parents and teachers weighed in Wednesday night over moves his detractors call “premeditated.”
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz, how did your neighborhood vote in these three 2022 races?
Precinct-level data reveals the disparities and similarities among the voting preferences of Santa Cruz neighborhoods on Measure N and Measure O and in the race for 3rd District county supervisor between Justin Cummings and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Voter turnout fell by 10 points in Santa Cruz County — and more in surrounding counties
The predictions that voter turnout highs in 2018 and 2020 would carry into the 2022 midterm election didn’t play out in California or Santa Cruz County.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
A progressive won the District 3 supervisor race after trailing for nearly two weeks. How?
Justin Cummings trailed Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson by nearly 5 percentage points after Election Day. More than a week later, he pulled ahead, giving credence to the local axiom that Santa Cruz progressives just vote later.
Posted inK-12 Education
Resigned then (likely) reelected: Soquel Union board trustee faces questions from parents, teachers union
Phil Rodriguez resigned from his seat on the Soquel Union Elementary School District board in September — about two months before the end of his term and in the midst of his reelection campaign. Now that it appears that he’s winning — it was too late to remove his name from the ballot — his opponent, parents and unions wonder if it was a fair election.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz is still counting ballots. What’s taking so long?
More than any other factor, Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber says voter behavior is the reason for the prolonged ballot tally in the wake of the Nov. 8 election.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Election 2022: Final votes counted as Santa Cruz County certifies election
The Santa Cruz County Clerk’s office finished its vote count on Tuesday and certified the results of the Nov. 8 election. In total, county voters cast 106,044 ballots in this election out of 166,837 registered voters, a turnout rate of around 63.56%.