The proposed revenue measure would increase the city’s tax rate from 9.25% to 9.75%, according to city officials. If passed, residents will have an opportunity to vote on the ordinance in the upcoming November or gubernatorial recall election.
Recovery & Reopening
Posted inBusiness & Technology
We’re reopened … technically: Why the post-June 15 life remains a mixed bag for business owners
Complicating matters for business owners already struggling to find workers is new masking guidance. On Thursday, Gov. Newsom signed an executive order that would expedite the wait time on those rules, giving businesses less time to figure out what to do.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
An end to the pandemic hangover? Local businesses brace for what’s next, try to put ‘smiles back on faces’
Local businesses and hotels are seeing an uptick in travel, business ahead of the state’s reopening on Tuesday, but some lingering pandemic aftereffects remain that will still need sorting out.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
The Great Santa Cruz Reopening: Business owners welcome new reality — even if that’s still being figured out
What to make of June 15th? That was our goal on Tuesday as we dispatched our entire editorial staff in different directions around the county. What we came back with was a hodgepodge of differing, developing, still-in-the-works ideologies about what to do going forward as a post-pandemic society.
Posted inCoast Life
‘Really cool to see all these people on boards’: Black Surf Club Santa Cruz brings diversity into the ocean
If this was a preview, next weekend’s Juneteenth events will be unmissable. As volunteer and ally, Tim Robbins says while manning a booth at Cowell’s, “Democracy is not a bystander sport. You have to participate. We have to get away from silo politics and come together as a whole.”
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Business is back, staff isn’t: Santa Cruz businesses navigate worker shortages ahead of June 15 reopening
“Help wanted” signs have become the unofficial calling card for businesses in 2021. Here’s how some local eateries and other outfits are managing the hiring shortage.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Can you imagine aerial taxis landing atop downtown parking garages? Joby Aviation can and is working on it
Santa Cruz’s Joby Aviation has joined forces with REEF Technology and Neighborhood Property Group to transform parking garages into “mobility hubs” — takeoff and landing spots for Joby’s aerial taxis.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
‘Our locals kept us alive’ — and so did outdoor dining: a push for Scotts Valley restaurants to stay outside
With restaurants, politicians and community members seemingly all-in on outdoor dining, bureaucratic hurdles could be the only thing keeping Scotts Valley from making it permanent before a city ordinance expires at year’s end.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Tussle over outdoor dining in Capitola looms: Despite a summer extension, permanency is still in question
Capitola restaurant managers and city officials weigh in on the value of making outdoor dining permanent. There will be a hearing for preliminary city council feedback on June 10.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
‘It looked like a bomb went off’: Felton Feed set to reopen after BMW crashes into storefront
Felton Feed & Pet Supply, an institution in the town’s Highway 9 business district, was on course to reopen Wednesday after suffering a direct hit — but no serious injuries — from a motorist Sunday.