Local News

Recalling the optimism that surrounded the launch of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program is bewildering, even though it happened just five years ago.

The $5 billion initiative was part of the Biden administration’s goal of having 500,000 public EV charging ports by 2030. Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s transportation secretary, said NEVI would “help us win the EV race.” 

And then things went sideways. First, the Biden administration took a long time to write the program’s rules and had barely started disbursing money by the time President Donald Trump took office. Then, Trump froze the funding and has been defending the decision in court ever since.

It would be reasonable to assume that NEVI hasn’t done much. But a report issued this week by the Sierra Club tells a different story. Despite many obstacles, the program increased its reach and accomplishments in 2025, with states spending $94 million on projects. That’s more than double the $44 million spent in 2024. This translates to hundreds of charging ports, with agreements to deploy thousands more.

And the successes aren’t where you might expect. Pennsylvania and Ohio rank first and second, respectively, in program funding because they were among the first to get organized and apply.

But the spending is still a tiny share of the amount originally set by Congress with the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. More than 95% remains unspent, largely because of legal challenges related to the federal freeze.

“Far more urgency, accountability, and action are needed to deliver the truly nationwide EV charging system Congress promised the American people in 2021,” said Josh Stebbins, managing attorney at Sierra Club, in an email.

Stebbins is part of the legal challenges to the freeze. In one case, Washington v. U.S. Department of Transportation, 17 states and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups successfully argued that the Trump administration broke the law by trying to claw back the money. A Jan. 23 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington agreed with the states and ordered that funding resume.

Advocacy groups are urging states to move aggressively to secure and spend the funds, which requires work to develop project proposals for charging stations.

The 2021 legislation allocated funding to states based on their share of federal highway aid, with the payments spread over five fiscal years starting in 2022.

At the end of 2025, $2.7 billion was available under the terms of the legislation but not yet sent to the states; $1.3 billion was “obligated” under the program, which means states had contracts to spend this money but had not spent it; and $94 million had been spent, according to the report.

The states that spent the most were the ones that moved the fastest to submit proposals from 2022 to 2024. This is why Pennsylvania, with $16.2 million from the program, has received more money than larger states such as California, which got $920,000.

Credit: Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Federal money covers a portion of the costs to deploy public charging stations, with others, often businesses, covering the rest.

After reading the Sierra Club report, I decided to visit the first NEVI-funded project in the United States, which is a short drive from me in the Columbus metro area. It’s at a Pilot Travel Center along I-70 in London, Ohio.

The area around the exit has four large gas stations or truck stops, two of which have EV chargers.

The Pilot Travel Center’s four charging ports looked the same as when I wrote about them in 2023. And just like then, nobody was charging during my visit.

So, I went down the street to TA Travel Center, which had 12 charging ports, and met Chip and Cathy Lillyman of Celina, Ohio, who were relaxing in their Lexus RZ 450e while the battery charged.

High gasoline prices make this a good time to buy an EV, even with the Trump administration’s cancellation of consumer rebates. The price was $4.29 at every station that day, which is pretty close to the local high since the Iran war started in February.

Chip Lillyman, who is a retired auto body shop owner, said high gas prices were one the main reasons they bought an EV. Previous gas price shocks are vivid in his memory, especially the one during the early 1970s Middle East oil embargo.

“I worked at a gas station at that time,” he said.

Cathy (left) and Chip Lillyman of Celina, Ohio, were charging their new Lexus EV this week at the TA Travel Center near London, Ohio.

The Lillymans traded in their Honda CR-V for the Lexus last week, and plan to do most of their charging at home, but were traveling that day.

The TA Travel Center is not listed among those receiving NEVI funding. 

Providing EV charging is one of several ways a convenience store can attract customers, and competition is intense at this exit. But EV market share in Ohio remains low, ranked 28th in the country as of the third quarter of last year, the most recent figure available from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group.

As EV market share grows, convenience stores will need to add chargers. I’m going to keep checking in and see which nearby locations here have chargers, and how much they’re used.

As of March, the country had 170,158 public level 2 charging ports, which are a step up from a garage wall outlet, and 69,630 DC fast-charging ports, according to the federal government’s Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.

Five years earlier, the country had 81,601 level 2 ports and 17,231 DC fast-charging ports. 

But NEVI has had little to do with the growth. The few hundred chargers connected to the program are barely a blip compared to what’s happened in the broader market, with private investment and state and local programs helping to build a national network.

Most of NEVI’s contribution is still coming, which is one reason I think the Biden-era goal of having 500,000 charging ports by 2030 is well within reach — even though the current administration is often hostile to EVs.

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

The post The Trump administration tried to stop the national EV charging program. It has kept rolling along anyway. appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for its newsletters.

California has emerged as the epicenter of a sweeping hospice fraud crisis, one that is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and putting vulnerable older adults at risk. 

Yet years after the state acknowledged the problem, key regulatory fixes remain in limbo while state and federal officials trade blame. 

Hospice care, an end of life service typically reserved for people with less than six months to live, has become a target for fraudsters looking to steal taxpayer dollars — with devastating consequences for patients caught in the middle. It has also become rich fodder for government and media investigations.

Last week, Sheila Clark, who leads the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, became emotional as she told congressional leaders the story of a woman in Southern California who in 2020 suffered a devastating fall in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom. The woman, a Medicare recipient, could not see; she needed cataract surgery. But scheduling that surgery ran into a hitch: at the time, Clark said, the woman’s records showed her enrolled in hospice – seemingly fraudulently. Unable to recover from the injuries of her fall, the woman died two months later. “That did not need to happen,” Clark said.

That case and others have refocused attention on a problem that advocates say has never gone away – and is again sparking a partisan fight. At the congressional hearing, some Republicans blamed California and Gov. Gavin Newsom for failing to get a handle on it, while some Democrats blamed the Trump administration for not doing enough and pardoning fraudsters. 

The Newsom administration says it has not been standing idle. Just this month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced charges against 21 suspects who allegedly defrauded the state of $267 million in a major hospice fraud ring. Since 2021, the office has filed 119 hospice-related criminal cases. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also announced separate recent arrests in California.

The California Department of Health has also revoked 280 hospice licenses over the last two years and is reviewing another 300, according to officials. Meanwhile, state regulations meant to limit who can obtain a hospice license were due months ago.

Stuck in the middle of delays and political back-and-forth are Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Californians who truly need end-of-life services may be at risk if they sign up with a sham hospice operator who might provide inadequate care or none at all, while others are enrolled in hospice services even though they are not dying and are locked out of services they need. “People lose access to care, they lose access to medications, to their [doctor], elective surgery,” Clark said. “It’s disheartening.”

Stricter hospice rules are still pending

In 2022, the California State Auditor found that the state’s “weak controls have created the opportunity for large-scale fraud and abuse.” Among other red flags, auditors noted a clustering of hospices in single buildings, particularly in Los Angeles County, and high rates of living patients discharged from hospice. 

The audit found that Los Angeles County saw a 1,500% increase in hospice agencies over a decade, along with indicators of large-scale billing fraud and evidence that thieves stole medical personnel’s identities to obtain licenses.

That same year, the state placed a moratorium on new hospice licenses, which is set to expire next year. Meanwhile, emergency hospice regulations intended to tighten who can obtain a hospice license are again delayed. The state Department of Public Health says it’s revising draft emergency regulations based on feedback from industry representatives and consumer groups. 

“Once these regulations are in place they will include stricter standards for who can own or run a hospice, nurse-to-patient ratios, limits on operators who try to oversee multiple agencies at once, minimum staffing requirements, and more thorough screening of potential licensees before a license can be approved,” said Mark Smith, a department spokesperson. 

Licensing is only the first step – the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services must certify operators before they can start billing. Clark and Isidro say better fraud prevention would demand more transparency and better data sharing between state and federal government.  

Fraud can happen in a number of ways

Psychotherapist Lynn Ianni still does not know how fraudsters got a hold of her information. Two summers ago she was finishing her last physical therapy session for a shoulder injury when Medicare denied her claim: Records showed she was enrolled in hospice care. 

Ianni, who also testified in last week’s hearing, assumed it was a clerical error – she had hurt herself playing pickleball, but led an active healthy life. Medicare pointed her to a hospice in Arcadia where she was supposedly enrolled. The address was in a strip mall; she had never heard of the doctor. She spent hours on the phone, over months, trying to clear up the problem. Medicare refused to cover care for her shoulder even as she paid her premiums. 

“It was over six months that I had no coverage or no services,” Ianni said. “I was really terrified because I couldn’t figure out how to solve it, and I had no resolution in sight.”

Fraud can take different forms. It can be providers knowingly overbilling Medicare and Medi-Cal or submitting false claims — but it can also be elaborate cases in which bad actors create sham agencies, steal medical information and bill for services they never provide or that are not medically necessary. 

These scams sprawl past hospice care. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of Inspector General have also raised concerns over fraud in home health services, skin substitutes, and durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs and walkers or oxygen tanks. Just Tuesday, the feds accused a Pasadena clinic of improperly charging Medicare more than $34 million for skin grafts and wound care services it didn’t provide.

Scammers have many tricks. They make robocalls or approach people at grocery stores, after church, or door-to-door, offering gift cards, meals, or free health services in exchange for forms that ask for personal and medical information.

“They don’t realize that their Medicare number is being stolen, and next thing you know, they’re being entered into hospice,” said Catherina Isidro, director of the California Senior Medicare Patrol, a group that helps people report and navigate Medicare fraud.

Health workers have also filed whistleblower complaints reporting that colleagues share patient information with fraudsters in exchange for kickbacks, Isidro said. That kind of fraud is harder to guard against because medical providers are supposed to be people of trust.

Clark said fraudsters have made a business of stealing Medicare identification numbers from the dark web and then selling them to hospices or home health agencies. “They literally call themselves brokers,” Clark said. “‘Here’s 10 beneficiary numbers. How much will you give me every month that you’re able to bill?’” 

Safeguarding your medical information is key

Families who truly need hospice care should not shy away from seeking the benefit over fear of fraud, said Mollie Gurian, vice president of government affairs at Leading Age, a group that represents providers of aging services. People can use the Medicare Care Compare site’s quality scores and phone directory to start looking for legitimate hospice providers. Legitimate providers should pick up the phone and be able to answer questions about their services, Gurian said. 

“[Hospice] is a great benefit, and the fact that it’s been utilized to commit fraud in this way is very distressing.”

For everyone else, advocates advise guarding Medicare and Medicaid identification numbers like a Social Security number – never sharing the number over the phone or in exchange for freebies. People should also read Medicare summary notices and explanation of benefits documents to ensure everything looks accurate. 

“It’s really critical that older adults, you know, Medicare beneficiaries, their caregivers or their family members, whoever is taking care of them, that they be very vigilant,” Isidro said. 

Those who suspect fraud should call their state’s Senior Medicare Patrol, a federally funded helpline that can help people disenroll from services they did not request, often within a day or two.

That hotline helped clear up Ianni’s Medicare account and restarted her benefits. Six months after first learning she was fraudulently enrolled in hospice, Ianni got a new Medicare card in the mail, with no explanation for what had happened. Just in time, too, she said: two weeks later, she broke a finger. “I was so relieved.”

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

The post Sham hospice schemes are bilking Medicare — and harming older Californians appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Source: Watsonville Police Department

April 24

• Someone stole a vehicle parked on the 100 block of Menker Street at about 6am.

• An unknown suspect kicked in the door of a residence on the 100 block of Rio Del Pajaro Court at about 7:30pm. No suspect was located. 

April 25

• Officers responded to a shoplifting report at a business on the 1400 block of Main Street at 8:18am. Police searched the area, but no suspects were found.

• A 49-year-old man was arrested for brandishing a knife at multiple victims on the 100 block of Marchant Street at 6:59pm. He was taken to Santa Cruz County Jail.

• Police responded to a report of a shoplifter who had just left a business on the 1400 block of Main Street. A 51-year-old man was arrested and taken to Santa Cruz County Jail.

• A victim reported being assaulted by two suspects with sticks on the 200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue at 2am on April 19. The suspects fled in a gray Camaro.

April 26

• Watsonville Police reported an attempted burglary at Cal Giant on the 100 block of Sakata Lane. Surveillance video showed a man attempting to break into the business around 5:30am. He was unidentifiable in the video.

• A father reported that his 35-year-old son was causing a disturbance at his residence on the 600 block of Delta Way. The son was under a restraining order, and remains at large.

April 27

• A 65-year-old man was arrested for public intoxication after he was seen urinating in front of a residence on the 900 block of Freedom Boulevard.

April 28

• Unknown suspects tried unsuccessfully to break into a business on the 400 block of Main Street at about 4am. The suspects have not been identified, but video surveillance is available.

• A 44-year-old man was arrested for shoplifting and trespassing from a business on the 1400 block of Main Street at 1:50pm.

April 29

• A man disappeared like smoke after he stole two packs of cigarettes from the Chevron gas station on the 1900 block of Freedom Boulevard at 9:44pm. The suspect is still at large.

The Watsonville Police Department last week welcomed its newest officer.

Beau Baugher began during his time as a Watsonville Police Cadet in 2011, where he first developed a strong connection to serving the community.

Before joining, he worked as a paramedic with American Medical Response and later served as a Deputy with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office.

Who Really Saved Watsonville Community Hospital

Tony Nunez’s claim that he “saved” Watsonville Community Hospital is simply not credible.

The hospital remains in a fragile financial position, with tens of millions in debt and ongoing concerns raised in a recent audit presented to the Pajaro Valley Health Care District. That’s

not what success looks like—and it certainly doesn’t justify rewriting history.

Let’s be clear about what actually happened. In 2022, when Watsonville Community Hospital was on the brink of closing, Santa Cruz County stepped in when others could not. 

The County led a $61.5 million fundraising effort, contributed millions in public funding, secured state support, coordinated bridge financing, and dedicated thousands of staff hours to establish the Pajaro Valley Health Care District.

That work was led by the current Board of Supervisors, county staff, and many community partners. That leadership didn’t come from campaign rhetoric—it came from real action

led by Supervisor Felipe Hernandez and the current Board of Supervisors. Because of

that work, South County families still have access to emergency care, labor and delivery,

and essential health services today.

Taking credit for a broad, community-driven effort—especially when the hospital is still facing

serious challenges—raises real concerns about judgment and accountability. Our community

deserves leaders who are honest about both the progress made and the work that remains.

This is not the time for inexperience or political spin. It’s a time for leadership that understands

how to navigate complex challenges and deliver real results.

Supervisor Felipe Hernandez has done exactly that—securing over $850 million in investments

for the Pajaro Valley, advancing the Pajaro River Levee Project, improving critical infrastructure,

advocating for the opening South County Government Center, and expanding parks and youth

spaces, including Valle del Pájaro Park.

Born and raised in Watsonville, Supervisor Hernandez is a decorated veteran and a proud

graduate of Watsonville High School. He has served our community at every level—as a

Watsonville City Councilmember, Mayor, Cabrillo College Board Trustee, and now as our

current County Supervisor—bringing both experience and a deep commitment to the Pajaro

Valley.

South County needs steady, experienced leadership—not self-promotion. That’s why I’m

supporting Felipe Hernandez for Supervisor.

— Arcadio Viveros

Former Director, Salud Para La Gente

Former Chair, Watsonville Planning Commission

•••

Questioning the local election system

The upcoming Santa Cruz mayoral race raises concerns about fairness and transparency. A crowded field of progressive candidates seems positioned to split the vote and prevent any one candidate, especially one with broader appeal, from reaching the 50% needed to win outright in June.

This nearly guarantees a November runoff, when turnout patterns change. The return of UC Santa Cruz students will significantly alter the electorate, possibly deciding a race that impacts full-time residents year-round.

Whether intentional or not, this dynamic risks eroding confidence in the process. Elections should be decided by ideas and leadership, not by strategic voting.

If the city’s political future increasingly depends on a transient student population, it might be time for a broader discussion about representation and governance. Residents should question whether the current system truly reflects the community’s will.

Santa Cruz deserves a fair, transparent contest — not one that seems rigged for a predetermined outcome.

Mike Lelieur

Santa Cruz

A shocking political event took place in Europe last month. On the strength of a 74% turnout—the largest in Hungary’s history—prime minister Viktor Orban’s 16 year tenure came to an abrupt end when opposition leader Peter Magyar and his Tisza party defied the odds and scored an overwhelming electoral victory over Fidesz, with Orban’s party, securing a 2/3 majority in the incoming Hungarian parliament. 

This victory will allow the new government, if it desires, to change the Hungarian constitution, and will greatly facilitate a comprehensive sweep of state institutions to eliminate the “state capture” imposed during Orban’s rule, which significantly weakened the independence of these institutions. Tisza benefited when all centrist and left-wing parties voluntarily withdrew from the election campaign, giving Magyar a clear one on one contest against Fidesz and Orban.

Outside of Hungary, the biggest immediate beneficiary of this result will likely be Ukraine, which is now set to receive a 90 billion Euro E.U. loan which, up to now, had been blocked by Orban. In addition, Hungary will soon receive 17 billion euros – about 8% of its GDP – in return for the incoming government undoing actions and laws implemented under Orban that were incompatible with EU rules. This outcome appears to highlight how opposition movements can challenge entrenched regimes and offers lessons for democratic recovery. Tisza’s electoral victory prompted multiple analysts to consider whether it could be an indication that far-right political populism is losing ground, that the pendulum is about to swing back.

After the 2008 great recession, right-wing populism surged in western democracies. The movement gained increased momentum during the mid 2010s because of growing anti-immigration sentiment, euro skepticism, and a backlash against globalization and political elites. 

During the mid 2010s political factions increasingly focused on immigration issues, and moved from the fringes to the mainstream, supported by a migrant crisis, which fed into cultural concerns about identity, border security and opposition to “woke” ideologies, economic concerns, globalization and disillusionment with the status quo. 

Many of these issues emerged within the destabilizing environment of rapidly accelerating social change, amplified by a targeted use of social media and news outlets. It became relatively easy for charismatic politicians to champion any or all of these political wedge issues.

The political pendulum refers to the theory that power and public sentiment naturally swing back and forth between ideological extremes—most often between left-leaning progressivism and right-leaning conservatism. After one political ideology remains in power for an extended period of time, the theory is that voters tend to become frustrated with its perceived excess or failures, generating a natural correction toward the opposite side of the spectrum. Observers are suggesting that this is what we are seeing take place in a growing number of countries governed by right-wing populist parties or coalitions.

Far-right populist governments have frequently failed to deliver for many constituencies. They frequently did not manage to fulfill their radical promises after assuming office and face practical governmental requirements. As voters begin to focus on personal economic concerns rather than culture wars, populist parties often struggle with mismanagement, internal scandals, and reliance on charismatic leaders who lack depth. Primary examples of countries with personality-dependent governments include Italy with Georgia Meloni, the U.S. under Trump and Hungary under Orban and Turkey with Erdogan. Aside from these primary distractors challenging populist governments, mainstream parties are beginning to get better at addressing the grievances that fueled the populist surge of the past number of years.

Indications that an ideological shift may be forthcoming appear to be growing. Aside from Orban in Hungary, Meloni in Italy recently lost passage of her flagship referendum designed to initiate judicial reform; in France centrist and left-leaning forces won elections in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other right-wing footholds; in Slovenia liberal prime minister Robert Golob’s Freedom Movement edged out the right-wing former prime minister Janez Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party; and in The Netherlands in a late 2025 election resulted in a significant shift toward the center and left when its far-right led coalition collapsed.

Under these circumstances it may be tempting to predict the beginning of a major political shift. However, as professor Gabor Scheiring  at Georgetown University in Qatar cautions, the steam may be running out of the far-right populist movement, these indicators could also reflect isolated setbacks, not necessarily a pendulum swing.

Stay tuned.

Students in Watsonville High School’s Hope Club unveiled a “Peace Pole” Friday during a community-wide peace ceremony at the campus library.

The permanent monument, engraved with the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in eight languages, was created to serve as a cornerstone of the Hope Club’s mission “to foster unity, reflection, and positivity within the student body and the broader Watsonville community.”

“At a time when there is so much conflict and grief in the world, the students wanted to help uplift people’s spirits,” said school counselor Daisy Nuñez who helped spearhead the project.

Senior and Hope Club member Crystal Martinez said she and fellow students have been working on the project since January.

“It feels good; it has been one of the best things that has happened to me. It was a big struggle, but we made it.” 

Nuñez said students in grades 9-12 worked on the project.

“I have felt so much support from the group, the body of students,” said Angelita Zaratewho lost her son, a WHS 2025 graduate, to suicide. In the company of her husband, Uvaldo, she added. “I felt a lot of warmth in the room today.”

Students presented visitors with a handprinted greeting card with their original artwork.

Around 150 people, including students, staff, families, and the local community attended the hour-long event that included brief talks by Hope Club 10 students who highlighted, among other things, three deaths by the deaths of three Watsonville High students and a stabbing attack recently at the campus.

Hope Club is a student-led organization that focuses on “promoting mental wellness, social harmony, and a supportive campus culture through community-building events and inclusive initiatives,” WHS officials said.

Of the Peace Pole, which features English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Italian, Mixteco, Japanese, and French, student Hilda González-Basurto wrote, “The message of hope in our Peace Pole comes from the understanding that, even though we speak different languages and come from different cultures, we all share the same desire for peace, kindness and connection.”

In addition to a program, created by students, each visitor was presented with a handprinted greeting card with their original artwork.

A Santa Cruz County-based science education group took top honors in a regional underwater robotics competition April 25, earning a return trip to an international contest in Newfoundland, Canada.

The Hephaestus Robotics Team, part of the Santa Cruz County Office of Education’s X Academy Robotics Clubs, placed first in the advanced Ranger Class at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Monterey Bay Regional Remotely Operated Vehicles (MATE ROV) competition at Watsonville High School. The finish secures the team a spot at the world championships June 25–27 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

“It’s amazing,” said X Academy co-founder Barbara Meister. “It is an affirmation of the talent of young people in our county.”

The win marks the team’s third consecutive trip to the international competition, where students from around the world test underwater robots they design and build.

The annual event drew hundreds of students from roughly 20 schools across the Bay Area. Teams constructed remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, capable of completing mission-based tasks modeled after real-world ocean engineering challenges.

This year’s competition simulated work in the frigid waters off Newfoundland—often called “Iceberg Alley”—where freezing temperatures, rough seas and icebergs complicate research. The scenario was inspired in part by the recent discovery of a dense deep-sea coral garden in the region, a biodiversity hotspot more than 200 meters below the surface.

“Everything we’re simulating in the pool is something that scientists have done out there,” said Matt Gardner, the MATE ROV competition’s technical manager.

Students navigated obstacle courses, retrieved objects from the pool floor and gathered simulated data from icy surface conditions. In addition to the engineering challenges, teams presented their designs to judges, including scientists from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Hephaestus, made up of 25 students from nine high schools across Santa Cruz County and beyond, competed alongside another local X Academy team, Berrybotics, which placed third in the Ranger Class. Valley Christian School’s Warrior Tides took second.

Berrybotics team member Orlando Cazales, 17, a senior at Diamond Tech in Watsonville, said the group saw improvement from last year.

Berrybotics team member Orlando Cazales carries the team’s ROV—called Krabby Patty—from the pool. (Todd Guild/The Pajaronian)

“We did very well compared to last year,” he said. “And everything went fluid. Everything went smooth.”

The Berrybotics robot was dubbed “Krabby Patty” after the cartoon “Spongebob Squarepants.”

“We’ve poured over eight months of hard work and dedication into our ROV and float,” Cazales said.

Annika Skrovan, 15, an Aptos High School student, said time constraints added pressure during the competition.

“We only had 15 minutes, so it’s important to get as much done as possible,” she said. “We didn’t get everything done, but nobody does.”

Hephaestus student leader Julia Tick, a junior at Pacific Collegiate School, said the team had to quickly build cohesion.

“We started with a lot of new members from eight different high schools across Santa Cruz County and had some serious learning to do—not only in engineering, but also in working cohesively as a team,” she said.

The X Academy Robotics Clubs program is a partnership between the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and nonprofit X Academy. It provides students hands-on experience in engineering, computer science and teamwork at no cost.

“We want to bring as many students as we can, regardless of their ability to pay,” Meister said. “That’s what X Academy’s mission is about: creating more rich STEM opportunities in this county.”

Founded by Meister and her husband, Joby Aviation engineer Tim Sylvester, the program has grown to include dozens of students from schools throughout the county, supported by volunteer mentors who meet on weekends during the school year.

Organizers say the program’s impact extends beyond robotics.

“STEM is really important, and why we do what we do is to get these kids interested in STEM,” Gardner said. “For the youngest kids, it’s really showing them that science is cool.”

Even for students who pursue other careers, he said, the experience builds skills that carry into fields ranging from automotive design to aerospace engineering.

Now, teams are preparing for the 4,300-mile trip to Canada, including fundraising efforts to help cover travel costs.

That includes an event on May 3 from 4 to 9pm at the Hook and Line restaurant at 101 Walnut Ave. in Santa Cruz. 

“We want to bring as many students as we can,” Meister said.

For information or to donate, visit xacademy.org.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Misty Navarro was appointed to the board in October 2024, joining at a time when five of the seven members were new to elected office.

What followed was a steep learning curve, often marked by volatility, as members worked to learn how to collaborate and govern a district that includes 34 schools, roughly 16,000 students and thousands of employees.

Now, with her term set to end in November, Navarro said the board has largely coalesced around its mission to improve student outcomes, and she is seeking reelection.

She said that progress was reinforced Wednesday during a goals and guardrails workshop, where the board discussed effective meeting management.

“I feel like I kind of just started getting a handle on everything,” Navarro said. “And I feel like our work is just getting started.”

With a potential economic downturn, projected enrollment declines and the ongoing need to improve student achievement, Navarro said maintaining continuity on the board is critical.

“To have another big turnover of the board, I don’t think is the best thing for our district at this time,” she said. “I’ve decided that I’m not quite done yet. I don’t feel like I’ve done what I set out to do.”

Priorities

Navarro represents Trustee Area 7, which includes the Central Coast, La Selva Beach and Rio del Mar.

She said the district is focused on improving third-grade literacy, calling it a “pivotal time” for developing readers.

“And we only have up to go, really,” she said. “If you compare us to the Salinas area and their school district, they have a very similar population to us and they’re outperforming us. There’s no reason that we can’t expect more from our students.”

Improving outcomes will require changes at the district level, Navarro said.

“Clearly it’s not our students that have been failing,” she said. “We haven’t been effective in what we were doing, and we need to do something different.”

Navarro also pointed to improving math performance — particularly preparing incoming freshmen to pass Math 1 — as well as strengthening college readiness, critical thinking and media literacy.

“Those were our four goals that we came up with, making sure that kids have the supports that they need,” she said.

She added that the district must continue focusing on its most vulnerable students, including those experiencing homelessness, those in foster care and students in special education.

“I feel like the majority of us on the board are in agreement about the direction we want this board to go,” Navarro said.

While tensions on the board have eased over the past year, disagreements between Navarro and Trustee Gabriel Medina — who has also clashed with other board members, Superintendent Heather Contreras and some cabinet members — still affect portions of meetings.

Navarro said those challenges have been part of her learning process.

“I really think that we are working together more collaboratively,” she said. “And I own my own responses over the last year, and I have tried over the last eight months or so to not take the bait and try to rise above it.”

If reelected, Navarro would continue her tenure following a recent round of layoffs affecting teachers and other employees, actions the district took to address a budget deficit.

She said she does not want those decisions to define her time on the board.

“We’ve had to make some really hard, painful decisions to maintain fiscal solvency,” she said. “And I don’t want to just make all the tough decisions. I want to actually be around when we start seeing the changes happen and can focus more on our student outcomes. I want to be around to see our students being more successful.”

Navarro said improving mental health services is another priority, while ensuring those services remain financially sustainable.

“As an emergency physician, I see this all the time in my work, and it’s something that I feel really passionate about,” she said. “But at the end of the day, what we were paying for the services we were providing is not sustainable. Mental health is still a huge priority to me, and I’ve been in lots of discussions with our mental health providers and our academic counselors, who are still going to be there.”

Navarro’s reelection bid also comes as the district prepares to receive a report from the newly formed Sustainable Schools Advisory Team, which is studying whether — and how — to close schools with low enrollment.

“It’s going to be painful no matter what,” she said. “Nobody wants their neighborhood school to close. It comes with a whole host of difficult decisions and community engagement, and it’s not an easy process, which is why we’re trying to be really mindful and have as much community engagement as possible.”

Construction work has been completed on a major sidewalk and road repair project along Main Street (Highway 152) in Watsonville, where a chunk of land collapsed at Struve Slough. 

The rupture—between Clifford Avenue and Watsonville Square where Nob Hill is located—took out a length of sidewalk, curb and gutter on the north side of Main Street, forcing officials to close the sidewalk to pedestrians.

Sarah Christensen, executive director of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, said that since the job fell under emergency status, it was completed in “record time.”

Watsonsville City Council member Casey Clark said he was urged by residents in his district to push for completion of the project.

“It feels wonderful,” he said Wednesday during a completion ceremony. “We just increased the safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Working with Caltrans and raising the funds was a win for Watsonville. We’re so pleased to get this done.”

City and County officials joined Regional Transportation Commission officials for a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday on Main Street. (Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian)

The $5.09 million repair, performed by Caltrans with Graniterock as the contractor, included excavation, placement of lightweight fill, paving, new sidewalks, curbs, gutters and drainage improvements. Upgraded paved trails that lead into existing slough trails were also completed.

Cabrillo College has the only dental hygiene program in the Monterey Bay region. (B. Sakura Cannestra — Santa Cruz Local)

APTOS >> Cabrillo College’s dental hygiene program was put on a three-year probation by state regulators last month and the threat of losing its accreditation looms over its teachers and students.

An investigation by the Dental Hygiene Board of California, which oversees statewide consumer safety, regulations and licensing for the industry, found eight violations of state law during a Feb. 12 visit to the college’s dental hygiene clinic. 

At meetings March 27 and 28, board members were outraged by the violations and suggested the program should lose its accreditation outright. Instead, the board gave the program an opportunity to improve during the probationary period and levied the maximum fine of $5,000.

“I was stunned, I just want to say that,” Dental Hygiene Board member Dr. Julie Elginer said at the meeting. “This is unacceptable — absolutely, categorically, for public protection purposes, unacceptable.” 

According to a letter from the state board, violations included staff ratios below the minimum, administrators changing students’ grades to advance them to the next course, students accessing the clinic without supervision and students lacking the minimum clinical hours required.

The school’s clinic offers low cost dental care to the public, where student hygienists work with patients under faculty supervision. 

“I am uneasy about letting a program like this continue because I think it really does endanger our consumers,” said Nicolas Kiet Quach, another member of the dental board.

The college is now required to file quarterly reports with the board and may have surprise visits from board representatives during the probation period.

“We don’t have the hygienists we need to serve our population.”

– Dr. Joshua Sanchez, vice president of the Monterey Bay Dental Society.

Cabrillo College has the only dental hygiene program in the Monterey Bay region.

(function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [], forms: { on: function(evt, cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt, callback: cb } ); } } } })(); Stay informed on Santa Cruz County’s biggest issues. Santa Cruz Local’s newsletter breaks down complex local topics and shows residents how to get involved. Email address:
mc4wp.forms.on('subscribed', function(form) { // gtag.js if(form.id == '6954') { gtag('event', 'subscribe', {'event_category': 'newsletter_prompt', 'event_label':'top_of_story'}); } }); Leave this field empty if you're human:

Travaris Harris, vice president of instruction at Cabrillo, said the current cohort of students are on track to graduate in May, and the program extended the clinic’s hours to make time for students to complete missing hours. He added that they’re working to address some of the violations, including hiring a second full-time employee and another administrator.

“I am confident that, as we go through the process and do our due diligence with reporting, that they’ll see that we address all of the concerns they had, and our program is on track,” Harris said in an interview on Monday.

‘We’ve all worked really hard’

A dental hygiene student said they’re worried the probation will damage their cohort’s reputation and overshadow their two years of education. The student lives in Santa Cruz County and requested anonymity for fear of academic retaliation and risking future job opportunities. They said they pursued dental hygiene to help improve oral health care access throughout the region, and that this program is integral as an affordable and accessible education option. 

“For us as a cohort, we’ve been told that it shouldn’t affect us personally,” the student said. “It’s just concerning to us because we, as community health care workers, we want more hygienists in the area.” 

The violations ranged from not having enough faculty to meet student needs to allowing all of the program’s 20 students to pass classes despite not meeting clinical hour requirements. Students were missing between 12 and 44 hours of required clinic experience.

Another violation included that seven students did not meet additional course requirements but were able to enroll in the next course prior to completing the prerequisites. According to state records, administrators changed students’ grades before they had completed missing coursework.

Many violations are related to the program’s narrow budget, according to the state investigation, including the department dropping to one full-time employee and having students pay for personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. 

Since the state board meeting, the school has begun making efforts to aid the program. Students were required to find their own patients for the clinic, often tabling at local events or around campus for advertising. Administrators are now helping to find patients by advertising the clinic more on social media.

The current student said as a result, they’re seeing more patients, and some classmates have now met and exceeded the required clinical hours. 

Worries remain about the future of the program. 

“We don’t have the hygienists we need to serve our population,” said Dr. Joshua Sanchez, vice president of the Monterey Bay Dental Society. “This program is so vital in trying to catch up and get health providers into our offices to take care of our communities.”

Sanchez said there would be vast consequences if Cabrillo’s program lost its accreditation, as it’s the only one in the Monterey Bay area. 

“We’re just so close to the end and don’t want anything to happen,” said the current Cabrillo dental student. “We’ve all worked really hard to be where we are right now.”

Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.

Learn about membership Santa Cruz Local’s news is free. We believe that high-quality local news is crucial to democracy. We depend on locals like you to make a meaningful contribution so everyone can access our news. Learn about membership

The post ‘Unacceptable’: Cabrillo College dental hygiene program on three-year state probation appeared first on Santa Cruz Local.

The Pajaro Valley United 2013 boys team was crowned NorCal State Cup champions after an impressive nine-month campaign competing against top teams across Northern California. 

PV United defeated Albion Silicon Valley of San Mateo in a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the Gold Division finals at the Davis Legacy Soccer Complex on April 26.

“It was a tightly contested game that showcased the team’s discipline, teamwork and unwavering competitive spirit,” said PV United manager Adriana Mata in an email.

PV United ‘13 is a program under the Pajaro Valley Youth Soccer Club. The team is made up of 17 dedicated middle school student-athletes — 15 from Pajaro Valley Unified School District and two from Watsonville Prep.

Their journey began in the group stage and advanced through a highly competitive knockout phase, which included more than 850 teams across 30 divisions.

As a result of their achievement, the players will be honored by the San Jose Earthquakes in May and July. 

Mata said this recognition reflects not only their success on the field, but also their consistent demonstration of resilience, determination and strong character throughout the season. 

“Their ability to persevere against high-level competition speaks to their growth not only as athletes, but as teammates and young leaders in our community,” she said.

With the weekend nearly here, check out things to do around Santa Cruz County with a recommendation from Lily Belli and a specially curated list from Lookout’s BOLO events calendar.

The post Best of Santa Cruz County entertainment, arts & food events this weekend, April 30-May 3 appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Here’s what’s happening on Santa Cruz County roads this morning…

▼︎ new incidents

Road incidents as of 7 a.m. on April 30

• A lane on westbound Highway 152 at Clifford Drive/Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville is closed for asphalt paving. The closure is scheduled to last until July 3.
   

Disclosure: Traffic incidents are partially generated by artificial intelligence. We are constantly working to improve the accuracy and quality of our AI-generated content. However, there may still be errors or inaccuracies. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

The post Thursday morning traffic: Westbound Highway 152 lane closed for paving appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

After the Department of Justice eased medical marijuana’s legal status, full reclassification could come as early as this year – a move industry participants say would help level the playing field for cannabis businesses by lowering taxes and fostering financing and trade opportunities.

The post How Santa Cruz County cannabis businesses will benefit from recent reclassification of medical marijuana appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Chris Krohn says he wasn’t really considering running for Santa Cruz mayor even six months ago, but when he kept hearing concerns that there might be only one candidate — longtime politico Ryan Coonerty — he decided to go for it. He sees a lack of candidates as a problem, adding that, while he likes District 3 County Supervisor Justin Cummings personally, him running unopposed for reelection to that seat is “bad for democracy.”

“I’ll never attack Ryan on his character, integrity or anything like that, because I think he loves Santa Cruz and just has a different vision of Santa Cruz than I have,” Krohn said of Coonerty. “I think the folks who are running now all have different, particular interests that we want to put forward, and they’re not the same, but it’s much more wide-ranging and promotes a debate and discussion.”

ELECTION 2026: Read more local, state and national coverage here from Lookout and our content partners

Krohn said the Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee’s failure to reach a consensus on endorsements for the Santa Cruz city races shows that the organization has also opened up to more perspectives.

“It was a resounding victory for the reason all of us ran,” he said. “We all felt like, ‘Wow, this is amazing. We’re getting a conversation here.’”

Krohn has lived mostly in Santa Cruz since 1983, with stints in Washington, D.C., working on political asylum applications for Salvadorans and Guatemalans, and in Nicaragua, where he helped run and teach at a language school. He was drawn to Santa Cruz when he heard about the late Mike Rotkin, one of the few mayors in the country who called himself a socialist. Krohn attended UC Santa Cruz and connected with Rotkin, who co-founded the university’s Community Studies program.

Krohn has served two separate terms on the Santa Cruz City Council, the first from 1998 to 2002, serving as mayor in 2002. His second term was to run from 2016 to 2020, but he did not finish it, as he and fellow councilmember Drew Glover were recalled in March 2020. Now, he’s returning to electoral politics to push back against what he sees as “selling off Santa Cruz to outsiders.”

Five of a legion of former Santa Cruz mayors (from left): Chris Krohn, Tim Fitzmaurice, Jane Weed-Pomerantz, Katherine Beiers and John Laird. Credit: Via Laurie Brooks

“Are these people producing housing for folks who live here? My contention is they are not,” he said, arguing that much of the new housing mostly caters to second-home buyers or people in the tech industry. “I’m afraid they want to bring in a different class of people.”

Krohn also takes issue with the potential housing development planned for the site of The Catalyst. “I think the city could do something to save that venue, or at least designate another venue before they’re out of business,” he said. “Because you know that music venue is not going back there. Nobody’s gonna want to live above a nightclub.”

Krohn said one of his first priorities is advocating for a town hall meeting for residents to discuss development in the city. He said he’d want to include people from various perspectives, including Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) advocates, homeowners associations and more, including people from jurisdictions such as Santa Monica and Los Angeles involved in lawsuits against the state.

“The folks on the council want this development, and they’re using ‘my hands are tied’ as a way of saying the state is doing this,” he said. “We could slow it down a lot.”

Krohn said his vision of successful development is two- to four-story projects that better fit the scale of Santa Cruz. He said he also would push for city staff to work with affordable housing providers rather than luxury housing developers; he believes the city has too much high-end housing in the pipeline. He pointed to Paris, which he said has high-rises in only a specific part of the city, despite a much larger population than Santa Cruz. He said he’s glad that Measure C, a real estate transfer and parcel tax, passed in November, but thinks it could have gone even further and taxed the most expensive properties more aggressively.

Krohn said he thinks the dwindling of homeless services, such as the closure of Housing Matters’ day services, is serious, and that social services are “paramount to the progressive era.” He said that while he understands Housing Matters’ decision, he thinks the nonprofit can’t just take the services away with no alternative.

“[Housing Matters] has a vulnerable population moving into those new places and they’re going to have to go through that gauntlet of human misery, so I get that,” he said, adding that it reminds him of when the city moved to close the encampment between Highway 1 and the Gateway Plaza. “It wasn’t like, ‘Where are we going to locate folks? This might not be the appropriate place,’ they just wanted to get those people out of there.”

Krohn said he’d look to expand a county program that pairs a nurse and social worker together to respond to nonviolent and mental health crises. He said he himself used the program to check on his brother dealing with mental health issues, and the responding social worker got his brother proper medication and treatment at a Capitola nursing facility. 

“Let the police do what they do best if they’re going after criminals,” he said. “A social worker nurse program is expensive, but so are police officers.”

Krohn said pulling out of the Flock Safety contract was the “most progressive thing I’ve seen the city council do.” He said he wouldn’t support automated license-plate readers of any kind, and expressed concern with Coonerty’s willingness to explore the technology.

Should he win the mayorship, Krohn said other top priorities would be working to fill vacant storefronts, improve the city’s bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and prepare for federal immigration enforcement, particularly by barring the feds from using city-owned property and training city employees on how to deal with agents, should they come to the city.

Krohn was recalled after he was accused of mistreating city staff and fellow councilmembers. He argues, however, that the impetus for the recall went well beyond personal or political disagreements. He said he and a short-lived progressive majority were “focused on the most vulnerable people in our community” as well as social justice issues and affordable housing, which the current council has strayed from.

“It has much to do with capital, has to do with money, and we didn’t represent those interests,” he said. “Santa Cruz is a very valuable place, and this city council is not protecting that value. It is denigrating the value, and it’s giving the value away to these outside developers. I’m running for city council to bring about balance in that relationship.”

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

The post In first electoral run since his recall, Chris Krohn aims to stop the ‘selling off’ of Santa Cruz to developers as mayor appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Five candidates are competing to become the city of Santa Cruz’s next mayor: Ami Chen Mills, Ryan Coonerty, Gillian Greensite, Chris Krohn and Joy Schendledecker. Coonerty and Krohn have held the office before, while Chen Mills, Greensite and Schendledecker are well-known activists, none of whom have ever held political office. Lookout has covered the race here.

Lookout asked each candidate five simple questions we think will give readers a sense of who  they are, what they stand for, and how they could shape the future of the city. We include their responses here in alphabetical order. 

ELECTION 2026: Read more local, state and national coverage here from Lookout and our content partners

The first vote happens in the June 2 primary. Santa Cruz uses California’s “top-two” system, meaning all candidates run in the same race, regardless of party. If one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, that candidate wins outright. If not, the top two finishers move on to a run-off in November.

Whether you’re already following the race or just getting up to speed, here’s a look at each candidate – in their own words – before you cast your vote.

You can also see the candidates live at Lookout’s May 7 candidates forum at Hotel Paradox featuring these mayoral contenders, along with District 4 candidates Scott Newsome and Hector Marin, and District 6 candidates Renee Golder and Gabriella Noack. Get more information and RSVP for free here.

Ami Chen Mills Ryan Coonerty Gillian Greensite Chris Krohn Joy Schendledecker

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

The post Five candidates, five questions, one big decision: Meet the voices vying to lead Santa Cruz – and get ready for the June 2 primary appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for its newsletters.

Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling narrowing the Voting Rights Act undermines legal protections that have helped Latinos gain representation in politics California Democrats and activists say.

The case centered on the boundaries of a Louisiana congressional district. The court found by a 6-3 majority that Louisiana had relied too heavily on race to decide the borders.

“One may lament partisan gerrymandering, but … partisan gerrymandering claims are not justiciable in federal court,” wrote Justice Samuel Alito for the majority. “And in a racial gerrymandering case like the one before us, race and politics must be disentangled.”

The ruling scales back Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate against people based on their race.

The ruling will not change California’s congressional districts, which were redrawn to favor Democrats after voters approved Proposition 50 last November. Partisan gerrymanders are permitted under the Constitution, the Supreme Court has previously ruled. 

The decision also nullifies the California Republican Party’s “Hail Mary” attempts to invalidate the state’s new maps, which the GOP argued were a racial gerrymander to favor Latinos.

But when it comes to House majority math in the U.S. Congress and which party clinches a majority in the November election, the curtailing of Section 2 could make Democrats’ Prop 50 gains moot. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom put forward the measure after Texas Republicans redrew congressional boundaries to favor the GOP. Prop 50 was meant to help Democrats pick up five additional California seats.

After the new ruling, several Southern states in particular could redraw their maps to eliminate “majority-minority” districts that were drawn to magnify the power of nonwhite voters. Such a move could oust as many as 12 Democrats, according to a New York Times analysis, and shift the long-term balance of power in the House toward Republicans. The GOP could then control Congress’s lower chamber even if the party loses the popular vote by a wide margin.

Newsom called the new ruling “outrageous.” Attorney General Rob Bonta, also a Democrat, said in a statement that while it’s unclear what impacts the changes will have on California, the ruling overall endangers minority voters in other states. 

“While the full impact of this ruling is still uncertain, we know from past experience that decisions striking down, or effectively gutting, provisions of the Voting Rights Act are often followed by new state laws that restrict access to the ballot for voters of color,” Bonta said in a statement. 

Kristin Nimmers, policy and campaigns manager of the Black Power Network, said in a statement that the decision rolls back “generations of progress.”

“The ability of voters to challenge discriminatory districts manipulated to drown out people’s voices based on race is a critical safeguard against being silenced,” Nimmers said. 

In California, Voting Rights Act violations aren’t only a memento of Civil Rights-era discrimination. As recently as 1990, a federal judge cited Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in declaring the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors had unconstitutionally gerrymandered their districts to exclude Latino voters. 

Section 2 required that redrawn district maps must be “equally open to participation” from protected groups — including racial minorities. The Supreme Court decision on Wednesday left Section 2 intact, but significantly curtailed how it could be applied by raising the bar for violations to “a strong inference that intentional discrimination occurred.” 

The high court’s three-justice liberal minority argued that the changes to Section 2 effectively dismantled the Voting Rights Act. The conservative majority on the court has been narrowing the law since 2013. 

Conservatives in California celebrated the ruling. 

Chris Kieser, senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, said the ruling was a victory long hoped for by California conservatives who had argued that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act improperly used race in redistricting. 

“The very idea of a majority-minority district and having a candidate of their choice is kind of antithetical to democracy,” Kieser said. “Voting is an individual right, it’s not a group right.” 

The Voting Rights Act has been primarily used to help the state’s growing Latino population achieve political representation from the 1960s to the 1990s. Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the ruling is unlikely to have much immediate impact in California. 

The ruling won’t affect California’s recent redistricting effort, he said, nor will it affect the independent state redistricting commission’s decisions. 

“I don’t believe there is any challengeable gerrymandering in this state,” Saenz said. 

But Rosalind Gold, chief public policy officer of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, said the ruling has dire long-term implications for Latino representation in California. 

“By eviscerating the Voting Rights Act, this could open the door to counties and localities looking at how they used Section 2 to draw their maps and challenging those maps,” Gold said.  

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

The post Supreme Court ruling on voting won’t change California districts, but could hurt Democrats appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for its newsletters.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who made history in 2021 as the first Black person to hold the office, is seeking a second four-year term.

As the incumbent and the only Democrat in the field, she will almost certainly cruise to victory in November. She faces only one serious challenger: Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner, a Republican. No Republican has won a statewide race since 2006.

ELECTION 2026: Read more local, state and national coverage here from Lookout and our content partners

During her tenure, Weber has faced criticism for California’s slow ballot-counting process — so slow that projected winners of state legislative races are often sworn in before Weber’s office certifies the results. Under state law, county election officials have 30 days to count ballots and conduct audits. Critics, including Wagner, say the time frame undermines voters’ trust in the state’s election integrity. 

In an interview with CalMatters, Weber dismissed the concerns as an issue President Donald Trump drummed up to pick on California. She argued it’s important to count every ballot and that most outcomes are known before she certifies the results anyway. 

“I know the value of being fast for some folks,” she said. “For me, accuracy is far more important.”

Wagner criticized Weber for doing little to lobby state lawmakers to speed up the ballot count. He said he would roll back the practice of sending universal mail-in ballots to every voter, which the state made permanent during the COVID-19 pandemic, though that would require legislative approval. He said he’d also support legislation to move up the deadline to certify election results. 

“Rather than wait 30 days, let’s make these changes that are right now causing people of all parties and no party to question: ‘Geez, is that really a fair election?’” Wagner said.

Weber, a former San Diego assemblymember, was appointed to the position by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 and later won a full term in 2022. The daughter of Arkansas sharecroppers who fled the Jim Crow South, Weber drew on her family history and campaigned on expanding voter access and boosting voter turnout.  

Over the past five years, Weber has overseen the administration of contentious elections that drew the national spotlight, from the recall against Newsom in 2021 to the congressional redistricting fight last November. She said she has focused on expanding voter outreach to rural corners of California and encouraging voter registration on high school and college campuses — something she said she would continue to focus on in her second term if she is reelected. 

Weber has been in court several times defending California election laws. She has sued local governments for violating election law while also defending the state’s election administration against legal challenges from both Democrats and Republicans. She most recently fended off a lawsuit by Trump’s Department of Justice seeking voter registration data in California. 

Weber said she fought to defend Californians’ voting rights. “If we were giving [voter information] away like candy, who would trust us … to protect their records?”

Weber has also faced criticism from advocates who say the state hasn’t done enough to make voting accessible. Disability advocates sued her in 2024 — albeit unsuccessfully — over state election laws that do not allow voters with disabilities to return their ballots electronically. 

Former Assemblymember Don Wagner, a Republican from Irvine, is running for secretary of state. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press

Wagner, the Republican challenger, wants to present an alternative to Weber, even though he acknowledged that a GOP upset would shock even himself. But if he were elected, Wagner, who also served in the state Assembly, said he’d garner enough national attention to use the office as a “bully pulpit” with the Democratic supermajority in the state Legislature. He said he would require voters to display ID while voting, which also would require a new law. A GOP-backed voter ID ballot initiative on Friday qualified for the November ballot.

Wagner argued that the goal is to restore voters’ trust in state elections.

“I am not one of those Republicans who is going to be out there telling you that unless a Republican wins, the election got stolen,” he told CalMatters. “What I am saying is I believe folks on either side of the political aisle and in the middle question the integrity.”

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

The post California’s race for secretary of state shows partisan divide over how to count ballots appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District on Wednesday declared an impasse in ongoing negotiations with the teachers union, setting the stage for possible intervention by a state-appointed mediator.

In a letter to district staff, PVUSD Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Kit Bragg said a previous proposal to give teachers a 7.77% salary increase while capping medical benefits was an attempt to “increase take-home pay while also adjusting benefit structures to strengthen long-term fiscal sustainability.”

“We brought this forward in good faith, hopeful it would serve as a starting point for meaningful dialogue,” Bragg wrote. “Recognizing the parties have substantial differences, PVUSD is requesting the state to appoint a neutral mediator to assist the parties.”

Bragg said the district’s responsibility is “to pursue agreements that are both competitive for employees and financially sustainable for the district.”

“Our goal is to offer competitive salaries, maintain strong, restructured benefits, ensure fiscal responsibility, and continue strengthening our programs to support improved student outcomes,” he wrote.

But the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers says the cap is a nonstarter, arguing that the modest salary increase does not cover the increased costs of their insurance plans—roughly $12,000 per year.

PVFT President Brandon Diniz said the union is also seeking smaller class sizes and lower caseloads for special education teachers.

Diniz said a message sent to teachers Wednesday afternoon asking whether they would support a strike showed overwhelming support. The survey runs through May 11.

“We’re going to be gearing up and ready to take all avenues available to us in this process,” he said.

The district’s announcement came about a month after it sent layoff notices to 85 teachers, a number Diniz expects to grow as the May 15 final layoff deadline approaches.

In addition, the district is looking to address its $29.3 million deficit by considering closing schools with low enrollment.

“They’re eliminating teachers through layoffs,” Diniz said. “We’re now looking at closing schools. Our students can’t afford for us to continue with this status quo, business-as-usual approach. So we want to see some movement on class sizes, and we’re not willing to budge on that benefits cap.”

The union plans to hold a rally before the next PVUSD board meeting, scheduled for May 6 in the Watsonville City Council chambers.

“We’re hoping to see our members and the community show up in force,” he said.

If mediation fails—a process that takes roughly a month—the union can request a three-member panel (one union representative, one employer representative and one neutral chair) to review the evidence and issue a nonbinding report with recommendations for settlement.

If no agreement is reached after that, and following a required 10-day quiet period, the district can make its last, best and final offer, Diniz wrote. If that offer is rejected, the union could then consider a strike.