For California consumers thinking about going electric, the Inflation Reduction Act could tilt the math in favor of nabbing that new Model 3 or F-150 Lightning sooner than later.
Government
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Back to school: California Republicans bet big on local board races
Shut out from winning statewide offices, the state GOP is seeking to capitalize on parents’ anger to win local school board races in 2022 and motivate Republican voters. The party’s “Parent Revolt” program is its most ambitious school board candidate recruitment and training program ever.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Moving past Measure D: Santa Cruz’s light rail future will finally go beyond speculation
The rail-trail debate didn’t end up killing us, but did it make us stronger? That will probably depend on the results of a feasibility study local leadership hopes can be launched by November. Either way, having fact-based answers to these long-argued existential questions will be a good place to begin the real conversations about the rail corridor’s future.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
What’s on the ballot for Santa Cruz city voters, explained
Just like that, the Nov. 8 general election is less than three months away. With three measures coming before voters in the city of Santa Cruz this fall, we take a look at what they mean.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
November general election preview: Who’s running for Santa Cruz City Council and mayor?
With voting less than three months away, an early look at candidates for the city of Santa Cruz’s new at-large mayor position and candidates in Districts 4 and 6 in the new districted city council setup.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
After wiping out $6.7 billion in medical debt, this nonprofit is just getting started
Nonprofit RIP Medical Debt buys up unpaid hospital bills plaguing low-income patients and frees them from having to pay.
Posted inK-12 Education
Affordability, teacher housing, student well-being: Superintendent outlines county’s top challenges
As schools welcomed students back to classrooms this past week, education leaders, including Santa Cruz County Superintendent Faris Sabbah, are ready to focus on student well-being, workforce housing solutions and funding. Local education faces the same issues as all employers — and increasing worries about a “fiscal cliff” even amid this year’s unprecedented state allocations.
Posted inLatest News
Biden signs climate, drug prices bill into law, another legislative triumph in a moment of democratic peril
The $700 billion package, which aims to curb climate change and lower prescription drug costs, could help Democrats this fall and burnish Joe Biden’s image. But it comes at a fraught moment for an American democracy still in crisis.
Posted inLatest News
As talks on Colorado River water falter, U.S. government imposes new restrictions
The federal government has announced a Tier 2 emergency based on Lake Mead water levels, requiring reductions for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico — though none from California.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Homeless vets were said to be a local success story. So why does the latest data indicate otherwise?
While support for homeless veterans has been robust at both the state and national levels, a recent survey done in conjunction with February’s one-day point-in-time count suggests that the situation in Santa Cruz County might not be as positive as local advocates believed. Was it an anomaly or is there a bigger problem to be addressed?