Live Oak School District’s $45 million bond measure appears headed for failure, in part due to a dispute with local seniors groups over plans to use the funds to demolish a district-owned seniors center to build housing for teachers and staff.
Election 2024
Posted inPolitics & Policy
In the Public Interest: Santa Cruz’s soda tax draws national intrigue
An inside look at Santa Cruz County politics and policy from Lookout correspondent Christopher Neely.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
With Measure Z poised to pass, Santa Cruz jolts national debate around soda taxes as legal battle looms
Santa Cruz’s Measure Z is poised for victory despite a $1.7 million campaign by the beverage industry. The apparent triumph has signaled a potential revival of soda tax initiatives nationwide and challenges to Big Soda’s influence.
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Fire districts weigh options after $243 million in bond measures fail
Fire chiefs for Scotts Valley and Central Fire say bond measures to pay for new stations and equipment struggled to garner enough support on crowded Santa Cruz County ballots. While Measure Q could open up millions in grants for fire districts for wildfire prevention projects, chiefs say that process is complex and uncertain.
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Passage of Measure Z, Santa Cruz’s soda tax, nears certainty but not yet definite after Friday’s count
Measure Z, the 2-cent sugary drink tax proposed in the city of Santa Cruz, now has an almost-certain path to victory after it widened its lead to 1,129 votes on Friday; however, more than 1,800 ballots remain to be counted in the districts that touch the city of Santa Cruz. The county clerk’s office expects “nearly all” the ballots to be tallied by Tuesday at 4 p.m.
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Thousands of uncounted ballots are holding up county races. We still know little about them.
In Santa Cruz County, most election results are in, but two critical races — Measure Z’s soda tax and the District 2 supervisor seat — remain unresolved. Thousands of same-day registration ballots hold the key, but resource constraints and certification priorities have slowed their processing at the county clerk’s office.
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Bomb threat forces Santa Cruz County Elections Department to evacuate over weekend
A bomb threat forced the Santa Cruz County Elections Department to evacuate for the better part of Saturday. The Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office searched the premises and did not find any potential threats. County Clerk Tricia Webber still thinks that her office will be able to add about 15,000 ballots to the county’s tally Monday afternoon despite the interruption.
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‘I hope for the 1960s’: Republicans in Santa Cruz County come out of hiding after Trump’s victory
In the heart of liberal Santa Cruz County, an unlikely gathering of Donald Trump supporters came together on Election Night. After Trump’s second ascendancy to the White House, local conservatives and Trump supporters say they don’t want to hide anymore. Meanwhile, residents in the LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities gird for the second term of a president who has targeted them constantly.
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To move forward from a traumatic election, it’s time to say goodbye to some worn-out beliefs
For those who didn’t vote for Donald Trump, last week’s election offers an opportunity to shed some cherished but outdated ideas about elections, demographics and America’s character.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Phalanx of Santa Cruz County leaders vows to stand with immigrant community in second Trump term
On Thursday, leaders representing Santa Cruz city and county government, public schools and nonprofit organizations reassured the county’s immigrant community of their commitment to support and protect them following former President Donald Trump’s election Tuesday to a second term.