As the FDA prepares to approve an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for younger children, Santa Cruz county officials and parents are not only preparing for the influx of people seeking appointments, but they’re also adjusting to a new phase of the pandemic.
Santa Cruz
Posted inHousing & Development
‘This is going to solve the housing crisis’: Santa Cruz builder waxes on importance of ADUs
With home prices continuing to rise, Santa Cruz home designer Pat Powers thinks the solution lies with accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. Changes in state and local laws have made it easier to build the mini-homes, giving families more options on where to live.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Working to raise awareness of domestic violence issues and promote healing
To mark Domestic Violence Awareness month, Santa Cruz County’s recently formed Commission on Justice and Gender launched a Healing Campaign to give survivors of domestic violence a platform to tell their stories.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Supervisors: We want more control over placement of sexually violent predators
The board of supervisors voted Tuesday to direct county administrators to oppose taking in sexually violent predators in Santa Cruz County until state law is amended to give local jurisdictions more power in the decision-making process. The move will have no impact on the case of Michael Cheek, a man diagnosed as a sexually violent predator, whose placement in Bonny Doon is facing opposition from residents.
Posted inCoast Life
‘Nothing has introduced more people to surfing than the Boogie Board’: Tom Morey opened the waves to the masses
A lifelong dreamer and tinkerer, Tom Morey created a stubby, lightweight bodyboard that changed beach culture forever. The Boogie Board delighted millions and enraged purists who suddenly found their favorite breaks as crowded as a freeway. Morey died last week at 86.
Posted inEducation
Seeking more stability, better pay, UCSC lecturers inch toward strike after UC offer: ‘It’s not an adequate proposal’
Lecturers across the University of California system, including at UC Santa Cruz, organized rallies last week following UC management’s latest contract proposal. After reaching a bargaining impasse and authorizing a strike in June, lecturers believe the UC has more to bring to the table.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Looking beyond Mills: Leaders, activists speak about what they want in next Santa Cruz police chief
After Santa Cruz Police Chief Andy Mills announced his resignation last week, discussions have kicked into high gear among politicians and activists about what qualities his successor should have.
Posted inUncategorized
WALLACE BAINE: On the anniversary of the ’89 quake, imagining a Santa Cruz where it never happened
While it would not be right to think of the 1989 Loma Prieta quake as a “blessing,” it’s worth considering the ways in which downtown Santa Cruz was re-envisioned — and whether that would’ve ever happened without the natural disaster.
Posted inHousing & Development
The third rail of Santa Cruz County politics: Electric streetcar steps into the political transit fray
A demonstration of an electric streetcar in Watsonville on Saturday was decried by Supervisor Manu Koenig, who said the idea was not a viable transit option. Coast Futura representatives, who are running the multi-week event, said it is just a demonstration to gauge community interest, and not connected to proposals TIG/m, the manufacturer of the streetcar, has with the regional transit authority.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Halloween will return to downtown Santa Cruz, but not in full street party fashion
After being canceled in 2020, Halloween festivities are coming back downtown. Unlike previous years, roads will remain open to mitigate large gatherings, and facial coverings are recommended. Santa Cruz police will also bring back safety enhancement zones with triple fine penalties.