Lookout Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz County is falling far behind its housing goals, with most jurisdictions on pace to meet barely half their targets – or less, write housing advocates Rafa Sonnenfeld and Janine Roeth. The problem, they write, isn’t a lack of planning; it’s that high costs, fees and delays make building financially unworkable. Proven solutions such as faster approvals and lower barriers are already on the table, but action keeps getting pushed years into the future. Every delay deepens the shortage, drives up prices and pushes more residents out, they write.

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The top candidates vying to be California’s next superintendent of public instruction took the stage for two virtual forums this week, detailing how they would handle achievement gaps, artificial intelligence concerns, LGBTQ+ protections and more. 

Six candidates participated in the forums hosted by EdSource, about six weeks before voters will go to the polls for the June 2 primary election. Whoever wins the position will help shape the future of nearly 6 million students in California. 

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Tuesday’s forum featured San Diego Unified School District Board Member Richard Barrera, former State Sen. Josh Newman and Chino Valley Unified Board President Sonja Shaw. Wednesday’s forum included State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Nichelle Henderson, a trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District. 

The forums took place in a wide-open race with no clear front-runner. None of the candidates reached even 10% of support from likely voters in a survey released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The achievement gap

One of the biggest challenges facing the next superintendent will be persistent achievement gaps across racial and ethnic groups, as well as between low-income and affluent students in California schools. 

Newman suggested three approaches: reforming curriculum to “make sure that standards are set and maintained in every district,” ensuring that teachers are paid enough to live in the communities where they teach and addressing chronic absenteeism by “bringing kids back into school and making them engaged.”

Muratsuchi touted his role in passing the Local Control Funding Formula, California’s education funding formula designed to give more resources to districts with the highest percentages of low-income students. He said the funding formula has helped, but acknowledged more needs to be done, especially before students reach kindergarten.

“We need to make sure that we provide more quality child care, quality preschool experiences for all kids, regardless of income, in order to close the achievement gap,” he said.

Barrera pointed to San Diego Unified as a model for improving outcomes at the high school level. He said that when he joined the district’s board, only 45% of all students overall, and 25% of Black and Latino students, were graduating having completed the A-G requirements, the college preparatory courses needed for admission to a California State University or University of California campus.  

“We raised the standards for our graduation rates,” he said. “We said we want A-G to be the sequence that all students take and all students have access to. And we got those numbers up to 70% for the entire student body, and also 70% for Latino and Black students.”

Artificial intelligence

Several candidates agreed that artificial intelligence in the classroom presents risks and challenges and called for stricter guardrails.

Shaw said she is concerned that artificial intelligence is eroding students’ critical thinking skills and called for more research, including creating a “group to study” AI. 

Henderson said students should be taught “how to utilize AI to enhance their learning” and prepare for future careers, predicting that many jobs they will hold have yet to be created “because of the innovations and the rapid change of AI.”

Rendon pointed to New York as a model, where he said teachers are “front and center” in the discussions around how to use artificial intelligence in the classroom. He said California should do the same. “Incorporate teachers into that conversation to make sure it’s not just administrators who are telling schools and telling teachers how they need to be incorporating AI,” he said.

Protecting LGBTQ+ students

The forums were not designed as debates, but some of the candidates did clash over California’s efforts to make LGBTQ+ students feel more welcomed in schools. Those efforts include the SAFETY Act, a 2024 law prohibiting districts from requiring staff to disclose a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Barrera said California’s laws protect LGBTQ+ students, but added that there are “uneven protections” depending on the district. He said his district, San Diego Unified, partnered with Equality California, an LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, and has been recognized as a model district on issues including sexual health education curriculum and anti-bullying efforts.

Moments later, Shaw accused Barrera and San Diego Unified of financial mismanagement for “putting money towards ideologies in the classroom.” She also claimed groups such as Equality California are discriminatory, and that “our daughters don’t feel safe in their locker rooms and in their sports.” Shaw has worked to keep transgender athletes out of girls sports.

Barrera responded by citing estimates that there are 65,000 to 80,000 transgender students in California schools and noted that the mother of AB Hernandez, an openly transgender track athlete from Jurupa Valley, sent Shaw’s district a cease and desist notice, which accused Shaw of cyberbullying.

“That’s not the kind of leadership that we need in California,” Barrera said.

Shaw’s stances were also brought up during Wednesday’s forum, when Rendon said that if he isn’t elected, he wants to make sure that a candidate other than Shaw wins the election. He said Shaw is “very much against the principles that we as Californians have stood for repeatedly.”

Opposition to restructuring CDE

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed that the operation of the California Department of Education be shifted away from the superintendent of public instruction and instead to the governor and the State Board of Education.

Unsurprisingly, the candidates all said they oppose that idea.

Shaw noted that voters elect the superintendent to run the Department of Education, calling it a “constitutional seat.” Barrera agreed, noting that California voters in the past have rejected initiatives to eliminate the superintendent as an elected position. He called Newsom’s proposal an “end-around” to bypass voters.

Newman suggested the proposal, if implemented, would decrease accountability. That view was echoed the following night, when Muratsuchi said the state superintendent serves as part of a “checks and balance system” to the governor. 

Rendon voiced perhaps the strongest opposition to the proposed changes, which he called “awful.”

“I think they would be bad for Californians. I think they would be bad for California schools. And ultimately, they would be bad for democracy at a time when we see the demise of democracy, threats to democracy all over the world,” he said.

Henderson, who arrived late to Wednesday’s forum, was not present when Newsom’s proposal was brought up, but she has previously said she is against the idea.

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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 arts & food events this weekend, April 23-26 appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Michael Tilson Thomas, a leading American conductor for a half-century who headed orchestras in San Francisco, Buffalo, Miami and London while also composing, died Wednesday. He was 81.

The post Michael Tilson Thomas, renowned conductor and composer, dies at 81 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 23

• A pickup truck and a four-door vehicle collided at the intersection of Highway 1 south and the Highway 129 off-ramp in Watsonville. The crash happened when the truck pulled out to turn and was hit by another vehicle coming over the overpass. It is not known if anyone was injured. The incident was reported today.
   
• 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: Crash at Highway 1-129 off-ramp; Highway 152 lane closed for paving appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Two new vendors are joining Abbott Square Market, with longstanding farmers market stall India Gourmet opening a permanent kiosk and Luna’s Borikén Bites preparing to debut Puerto Rican dishes in the Octagon. The additions expand the downtown Santa Cruz food hall’s lineup with globally inspired menus.

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Ami Chen Mills has been busy. Many Santa Cruz County residents might know her because of her community activism, which has recently been focused on keeping automated license plate readers (ALPRs) out of the community through her work with Get The Flock Out, which opposes the cameras and their vendor, Flock Safety. But she’s also a lecturer at UC Santa Cruz, where she teaches a class on resiliency; a writer; and host of the podcast “Moment of Truth with Ami Chen Mills,” although that program is currently on hiatus.

Chen Mills, having run for District 3 county supervisor in 2022, ultimately losing to current Santa Cruz City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson and current District 3 County Supervisor Justin Cummings, said she returned to electoral politics to run for Santa Cruz mayor because she felt that opponent Ryan Coonerty had been essentially appointed by the local political establishment. She said she isn’t pleased with his approval of ALPRs, nor with his adviser role for San Jose mayor and gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan, who has received hefty donations from tech moguls.

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“I understand the connection between the feds [and ALPRs] and what they’re trying to do,” Chen Mills said. “We don’t need to be helping the feds right now, and in general, there are constitutional issues under any administration with this kind of technology.”

While Chen Mills has worked as an activist within the community, she said she doesn’t see herself solely as that. She’s also an elected member of the Democratic Central Committee and a nonprofit director, having co-founded the Center for Sustainable Change. For her, roles are temporary, and can be changed.

“If we had people elected who were already connecting the dots, and were more progressive than what most of these councilmembers appear to be, I think we wouldn’t have to have so much activism. We do have some councilmembers who are just phoning it in,” she said. “I’m not attached to roles and I’m not attached to ideologies. I think that ideologies can get in our way.”

That point is perhaps the overarching theme of Chen Mills’ bid for mayor – trying to get more people engaged in local politics. She envisions more town halls, and opportunities for the public to meet face-to-face with her and ask questions about the city council’s agenda on the Monday prior to meetings. She said that’s where her experience in journalism can come in handy, as she feels confident that she can explain complicated concepts to the public. She wants to make the meetings fun, too, perhaps including music. Chen Mills plays the ukulele, after all. 

“I want to have a jam, and the reason is I want us to be able to come together as a community, regardless of where we sit on the political spectrum, and have some rapport,” she said, adding she’d also want to introduce town halls in each city council district as often as every month. 

Chen Mills acknowledged the area’s housing crisis and said the city does need to build more, but thinks the conversation about housing could use more nuance. 

Ami Chen Mills serenades the crowd with “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes at a January anti-ICE protest at the Hilton in Scotts Valley. Credit: Cecilia Schutz / Lookout Santa Cruz

She believes YIMBY (yes in my backyard) is too much of a single-issue movement, while the NIMBY (not in my backyard) perspective comes off as “unkind” when opposing development in general, even though she does believe people should have a say in construction proposed in their neighborhoods. She said Santa Cruz has to balance growth with available resources, such as water, and suggests an effort to study how many more people the city and university can bring in while maintaining that balance. She said if she had to cut housing out of the plans, the cuts would come from market-rate units.

“We cannot ignore the environment, the water issue and what the community wants just to build market-rate housing for people who don’t actually live here,” she said.

Chen Mills also wants to explore paths to homeownership. That could involve converting old buildings to condominiums, something City Councilmember Renee Golder floated during a Democratic Central Committee candidate forum in March. Chen Mills says she would also look for ways to incentivize subdividing parcels, allowing more building on those subdivided lots.

A vocal opponent of Flock Safety and the use of automated license plate readers, Chen Mills envisions going further than the city already has with the cancellation of its contract with Flock. She said she would support something like a data-broker ban or other restrictions to keep residents’ private information safe. She also expressed interest in an ordinance requiring local businesses to accept cash as well as cards, both to serve people without card payment options and to allow for more private purchases, particularly in places like parking lots, where personal and vehicle information can be exposed.

Chen Mills said that to address the issue of homelessness, she would want to have more conversations and collaboration with members of the unhoused community. The dearth of services for unhoused people following the closures of the Mental Health Client Action Network, the Downtown Streets Team and Housing Matters’ day services concerns her, she said. She believes the programs need to return in some capacity. She said she’d like to see the services somewhere near downtown, but acknowledges that finding the right site would be a big hurdle.

“What downtown business owners need to understand is you can’t just lock people up for no reason. If they’re going to commit crimes, then we can put them into the justice system, but they need rehab in there, too,” she said. “We need to come up with a solution together and take some risks. If we don’t want people to hang out on the streets downtown, we need a place for them to hang out.”

Chen Mills wants to be a devoted official, with a focus on community-building and transparency with her constituents. That won’t make her any less busy, but should she win the Santa Cruz mayoral seat, she still wants to keep writing and teaching her UCSC class, which is one quarter each year. 

“One of the big things that people say is that before authoritarianism came to their country, they wished they had built community,” she said.

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The Santa Cruz Office of the Public Defender is joining a statewide protest Thursday calling for dedicated state funding. Citing workload studies and funding disparities with other agencies, Chief Public Defender Heather Rogers said systemic changes are needed to prevent burnout.

The post Santa Cruz County public defenders join statewide protest demanding more funding, lighter workloads appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to cut Medi-Cal dental benefits risks repeating California’s costly 2009 mistake, when preventable issues turned into medical emergencies, writes Laura Marcus, CEO of Dientes Community Dental Care. Marcus argues that the proposed budget savings would actually shift higher costs onto hospitals and vulnerable communities. Expanded dental coverage has improved health outcomes and access to care for thousands, she writes, but that progress is now at risk. She says lawmakers face a clear choice: protect preventive care or pay more later for crisis-driven treatment. The vote will happen by June 15.

The post We can’t afford to repeat the mistakes of 2009: California must protect Medi-Cal dental benefits appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

A televised debate among six leading candidates for California governor Wednesday underscored sharp partisan divides on issues from homelessness to taxes, while the Democrats sought to distinguish themselves from each other in a chaotic race with no clear leader.

It’s the first time in a generation that California has a wide-open contest for the heavily Democratic state’s highest office, with more than 50 names on the ballot. Mail ballots are scheduled to go to voters early next month in advance of the June 2 primary election.

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It was mostly a mannerly exchange. There were few instances of candidates talking over or interrupting each other, indicating they were eager to make a positive impression with voters who might be seeing them for the first time.

The debate brought together the two leading Republicans, conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, and four Democrats – former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, billionaire Tom Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Biden administration Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Over 90 minutes, candidates fielded questions on housing and wildfire insurance, social media and gas taxes, while bickering over professional experience, individual wealth and the direction of the nation’s most populous state. Democrats made clear they would fight President Donald Trump in a state known as the home of the so-called Trump resistance, while Republicans said ruling Democrats are to blame for the state’s woes.

“Donald Trump is trying to punish California every way he can,” Steyer said.

Homeless policy displays sharp partisan divide

California has more people living on the street than any other state and Democrats generally credited outgoing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for his efforts to deal with the long-running crisis. But Republicans said the state has spent billions of taxpayer dollars with little evidence of progress.

California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco speaks after Wednesday’s debate in San Francisco. Credit: Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press

“Everything has taken us in the wrong direction,” Hilton said.

Bianco called the state’s record on homelessness a “dismal failure.”

Social media use for kids at issue

Candidates were asked if the state should ban social media use for children under 16 years old, and their answers didn’t fall neatly on party lines.

Steyer and Becerra said they support such a ban. Hilton said there should be a social norm to keep smartphones away from children under 16. Porter said she doesn’t support a ban at that age but might support a different age ban, noting that two of her teenage children use social media in different ways. Bianco and Mahan said it should be left to parents, with Mahan saying he supports parental consent for kids under 16 and that cellphones should be banned in schools.

There also were some sharp exchanges and candidates sought to distinguish themselves from rivals.

A billionaire faces questions

References to Steyer’s wealth and previous business dealings came up repeatedly.

“The only housing Tom Steyer’s built has been private prisons and ICE detention centers,” Mahan said, echoing criticism that Steyer, a hedge fund founder turned liberal activist, invested in private prisons that today house people picked up in federal immigration raids.

Tom Steyer (center left) and Katie Porter, candidates in California’s gubernatorial race, shake hands during Wednesday’s debate in San Francisco. Credit: Jason Henry / pool photo via Associated Press

Steyer responded that he and his wife have financed thousands of low-income housing units.

Steyer has been vastly outspending his rivals in advertising and was asked about being the only billionaire in the race. He noted major corporations including utility companies are spending millions against him.

“I’m the billionaire who wants to tax other billionaires,” Steyer added. “I’m the billionaire who’s taking on the electric monopoly and trying to break up their power. I’m the billionaire who wants to tax the oil companies and make polluters pay.”

California’s unique primary rules fuel uncertainty

The candidates were all on stage together because California puts all candidates on the same ballot regardless of party, and the two with the most votes go to the November general election. Democrats have been fretting their crowded field could result in two Republicans advancing, a result that would be a historic calamity for Democrats.

The campaign has just come through an unstable period, with U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell — one of the leading Democrats — leaving the race and Congress following sexual assault allegations that he denies.

Xavier Becerra, a candidate in California’s gubernatorial race, speaks during Wednesday’s debate in San Francisco. Credit: Jason Henry / pool photo via Associated Press

Becerra and Mahan were late additions to the debate lineup after Swalwell exited the race. Both candidates in the reordered contest have been getting fresh attention, and endorsements. Becerra was the only candidate who declined to speak to reporters after the debate.

Porter, who became a social media celebrity by brandishing a whiteboard at congressional hearings while grilling CEOs, could become the state’s first woman governor. Steyer, who in 2020 ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign, is known for his involvement in climate issues. Becerra served in the Biden administration and as a state attorney general, a congressman and a state legislator, and would be the state’s first Hispanic governor in modern history. Mahan says he has made gains against homelessness and crime while leading Northern California’s largest city.

California takes center stage

Democrats have dominated government in the nation’s most populous state for years. Republicans haven’t won a statewide election in two decades, and Hilton and Bianco faulted Sacramento’s one-sided politics for the state’s troubles.

Bianco said Democratic policies were driving up the cost of living.

Hilton, while discussing the state’s notoriously high tax rates, said, “All the Democrats here are part of this system that obviously isn’t working.”

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California’s secretary of state announced Tuesday that a tax-chopping proposition — one backers have spent years trying to put before voters — is now officially eligible for the November ballot. Come fall, anti-tax advocates and real estate developers might have reason to rejoice; city governments, public sector unions and the city of Los Angeles could have reason to worry. 

The qualification announcement for a real estate-oriented constitutional amendment also gives California’s Democratic lawmakers reason to start frantically negotiating toward a deal to keep the measure off the ballot entirely, even though the measure’s backers publicly say they aren’t interested. 

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Branded the “Local Taxpayer Protection Act” by its sponsor, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the newly eligible measure would both sharply cap municipal transfer taxes — fees slapped on real estate sales — and make it harder for voter-sponsored campaigns to raise taxes in local elections. 

The measure would hit cities like Berkeley, San Mateo and Alameda — which rely on transfer taxes for a significant share of their funding — especially hard. According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, it would cost local governments “a couple of billion dollars” per year, with taxpayers collectively saving just as much. 

Why this is also a fight about Los Angeles

But the focus of the debate, and arguably the primary target of the proposition, is Los Angeles and its controversial “mansion tax,” known as Measure ULA. 

Since becoming law in 2023, the voter-backed policy has levied a 4% tax on real estate sales over $5 million and 5.5% on those above $10 million — thresholds that have since inched up to match inflation. The tax has raised more than $1 billion in three years. Last week, the city announced a $360 million award for future affordable housing projects. 

But real estate interests, some elected officials in Los Angeles and a growing number of academics say the tax has triggered a sharp slowdown in new construction, including of affordable housing, across the city, compared to neighboring cities. The levy falls not just on mansions, but apartments, condos, multi-use and commercial developments, too. 

The resulting ire among developers, investors and business groups over the Los Angeles tax fueled the statewide proposition campaign, said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a conservative group best known for its landmark property tax limiting measure Proposition 13. “I think ULA was not just the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the redwood tree that broke the camel’s back,” he said.

The statewide proposition would trim transfer taxes to just one-twentieth of 1% of a real estate sale’s value. Measure ULA’s top rate is 100 times higher. It would also require some voter-initiated tax measures to clear a two-thirds threshold rather than a simple majority. In Los Angeles, measure ULA passed with 58%. 

If the tax-chopping proposition passes, Measure ULA is first on the block. 

But that’s a big “if.” More than 57% of likely voters, including a majority of Republicans, opposed the initiative when shown its title as it would appear on the ballot, according to a recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California.

On your mark, get set … haggle!

There’s also a chance the measure won’t even make it onto the ballot.

Under California election law, sponsors can still yank a measure back after gathering enough valid signatures before the official qualification deadline of June 25. In prior election cycles, that window has become a bonanza of backroom dealing in Sacramento as Democratic lawmakers scramble to muscle unwanted measures off the upcoming ballot and deal-hungry interest groups line up to extract concessions. 

A notable example: In 2018, the soda industry funded a ballot measure that would have made it harder for local governments across the state to raise taxes. Backers pulled it at the last minute, but only after lawmakers begrudgingly agreed to pass a 13-year ban on new soda taxes.

At the end of last year’s legislative session, a group of Southern California Democrats, working alongside Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and former state Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, launched a last-minute effort to exempt new apartment developments from the L.A. tax, while adding some new flexibility on how the money could be spent. The bill had a broader purpose too: It would have only taken effect if the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association removed its measure. 

In the face of pushback from both business groups on one side and arch defenders of Measure ULA on the other, the effort fizzled. But now that the Howard Jarvis measure is officially headed for the ballot, Sacramento legislators may feel newly inspired to deal. Even if the electoral odds are ultimately stacked against the proposition, Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning campaign funders would be happy to avoid a costly defensive campaign.

Let’s make a deal?

In the meantime, changes may be coming out of Los Angeles itself. 

Earlier this year, Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is hoping to unseat Bass as mayor, introduced a measure that would have put a series of Measure ULA changes on the June ballot. By exempting new development, it reflected many of the changes proposed in last year’s unsuccessful state bill. But a majority of the council punted.

The council instead delegated the question to a select committee chaired by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, tasking it with recommending changes to the tax. Some of those changes would require voter approval and could go before voters in November, on the same ballot as the Howard Jarvis proposition.

The committee will also consider a set of tweaks to the law proposed by city staff that would clarify that nonprofit affordable developers are exempt from the tax, while making it easier for developers to pair ULA funds with other sources of funding. City staff say those changes could happen without going back to voters.

Tenant rights groups, some affordable housing developers and trade unions support those changes, but are urging the committee to otherwise leave the tax alone. A coalition of developers, “Yes in My Backyard” advocates and unionized carpenters has popped up to urge the city to consider a broad “fix” — before state lawmakers or anti-tax advocates do that work for them. 

“We think it’s really important to show that we can drive reform locally,” said Sarah Dusseault, a former city homelessness official who is now co-leading the “Mend It, Don’t End It” campaign. Making those changes locally “will go a long way to prevent more drastic measures.”

Measure ULA’s defenders counter that nothing the city or the state does will be enough to convince the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to pull its measure. 

“We’ve tried to negotiate with the funders of the measure and, both publicly and privately, they’ve been consistent that they have no intention to pull the measure,” said Joe Donlin, director of the United to House L.A. coalition. “They don’t want to change taxes, they want to eliminate them.”

Coupal, from Howard Jarvis, agreed that the proposition is not a bargaining chip. “The folks on our side cannot envision any kind of deal that would give us the kind of solace that we would need,” he said.

But campaigns are expensive. Though the proposition campaign has been led by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, much of the funding has come from the California Business Roundtable, a coalition of major businesses in California, along with a smattering of commercial real estate companies, developers and landlord groups in Los Angeles. For now, the business roundtable says this dispute should be settled by voters. In the coming months, would any of them be willing to cut a deal with desperate Democrats in exchange for dropping their support?

Some legislators in both Sacramento and Los Angeles are eager to find out.

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The post A plan to cut a California tax is going to voters. Why L.A.’s ‘mansion tax’ is at the center of it appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

In a letter to the editor, Supervisor Justin Cummings praises Rep. Jimmy Panetta for his efforts on behalf of Santa Cruz County.

The post Letter to the editor: Justin Cummings: Jimmy Panetta has done much to help Santa Cruz County appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

An appeals court has blocked a California law passed in 2025 requiring federal immigration agents to wear a badge or some form of identification.

The post Federal appeals court blocks California law requiring federal agents to wear identification appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This post is updated throughout the day to reflect the latest incidents. It was last updated at 7:31 a.m..

Here’s what’s happening on the roads this morning…

▼︎ new incidents

Road incidents as of 7:30 a.m. on April 22

• A vehicle crossed the double yellow line at Porter Dr and San Juan Rd in Watsonville/Pajaro and nearly hit another driver, who swerved and damaged his rim. A white F550 flatbed truck with a cement box stopped at the scene. No injuries were reported. The incident was reported today.
   
• A lane on westbound SR-152 at Clifford Drive/Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville/Pajaro is closed for asphalt paving. The closure will last until July 3.
   
• A lane on east SR-129 at Union Street in Watsonville / Pajaro is closed for utility work. The closure will end at 3:01 p.m. today.
   

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 Wednesday morning traffic: Lane closures on SR-152 and SR-129 in Watsonville appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Music in May is set to celebrate its 19th annual season of bringing contemporary and classical chamber music to underserved youth, with performances scheduled from May 26 through May 31 around Santa Cruz County. 

In partnership with the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, the festival will kick off at 5 p.m. on May 26 with a free concert by classical group Ensemble San Francisco in the museum’s atrium.

Music in May is also partnering with Bookshop Santa Cruz to host two free pop-up concerts featuring Ensemble SF on May 27 at 11 a.m. and noon.

On May 28, the festival returns to the MAH for a free program spotlighting the youth of El Sistema Santa Cruz & Pajaro Valley at 7 p.m.

Music in May will conclude with two performances by a collection of world-renowned festival musicians at the Samper Recital Hall at Cabrillo College at 7 p.m. on May 30 and at 2 p.m. on May 31.

For more about artists and ticket information, visit the Music in May website. 

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La mayor celebración de la cultura oaxaqueña en Santa Cruz, que reconoce la diversidad de música, gastronomía y artes del estado mexicano, regresa a la ciudad este fin de semana.

En preparación para la Guelaguetza, Isai Pazos, director ejecutivo de la organización local sin fines de lucro Senderos, dijo que querían conocer dónde residía la mayor parte de la comunidad indígena de la región originaria del estado de Oaxaca.

Por ello, la organización hizo un llamado a la comunidad en busca de posibles participantes —desde bailarines hasta músicos— para el evento de este año, explicó. Según Pazos, recibieron respuestas de personas de Watsonville, donde hay una alta población indígena, así como de zonas cercanas como San José, Seaside y Palo Alto.

El evento del domingo contará con la participación de casi 150 artistas —incluido el grupo juvenil de danza de Senderos— además de vendedores de comida que ofrecerán platillos tradicionales oaxaqueños como mole y tlayudas. Los asistentes también podrán adquirir artesanías y recuerdos elaborados por artesanos.

“El propósito de organizar esto es mostrar a otras comunidades que estamos aquí como comunidad para apoyarnos mutuamente,” dijo Pazos. La palabra “guelaguetza” en zapoteco —una de las 16 lenguas indígenas que se hablan en Oaxaca— significa ayudar a alguien sin recibir nada a cambio, dijo Pazos.

Por lo general, las festividades comienzan unos días antes del evento principal con una procesión desde Branciforte Avenue hasta el centro de la ciudad y con el evento “Music and Mole,” pero este año Pazos comentó que Senderos está pausando las actividades previas para priorizar la seguridad ante los temores actuales relacionados con la inmigración. El año pasado, la organización casi cancela el evento por razones similares.

“Creo que es muy importante que estemos seguros y que cada familia se sienta segura y bienvenida,” dijo Pazos.

Aunque el evento está pensado como una celebración de la cultura oaxaqueña, Pazos indicó que también es una invitación para que todos los miembros de la comunidad aprendan sobre ella y la disfruten. La guelaguetza también será el evento final del festival inaugural de artes Ripple Effect.

“Es hermoso ver que muchos miembros de la comunidad están interesados,” dijo Pazos. “También me interesa ver y escuchar a quienes asistirán por primera vez.”

La 21.ª Guelaguetza de Senderos se llevará a cabo el domingo 27 de abril, de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m., en el campus de Branciforte Small Schools, ubicado en 840 N. Branciforte Ave., Santa Cruz. La entrada cuesta $10, y los niños menores de 5 años entran gratis.

The post La celebración cultural oaxaqueña de Santa Cruz regresa para su 21º festival este fin de semana, destacando danza, música y comida indígena appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

A bill authored by California Assemblymember Gail Pellerin in response to the 2015 murder of Santa Cruz 8-year-old Madyson Middleton passed its first legislative hurdle last week. “This isn’t just about Maddy and Santa Cruz,” her mother told Lookout. “It’s about protecting all of California.”

The post Pellerin-authored bill inspired by murder of Maddy Middleton makes headway in legislature appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

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The Watsonville community means everything to Tony Nuñez, and it’s one of the main reasons he decided to run for the District 4 seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. 

Nuñez, 34, told Lookout in February that his community has done a lot for him and his family, who are longtime residents of Watsonville. And now, he wants to continue a tradition of giving back to the community – as a county supervisor. 

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“What I’ve done in terms of my professional career, it’s always been about giving back,” he said in an interview this month. “Whether it was working at The Pajaronian, that was a great way to give back and tell people’s stories … and then at Community Bridges, where I felt that I was still in tune with the community and helping people.”

Nuñez is running in the June 2 primary election against incumbent Felipe Hernandez and community advocate Elias Gonzales for District 4 county supervisor, which represents most of the Pajaro Valley, Watsonville and Interlaken. 

Since there are more than two candidates for the District 4 seat, the Nov. 3 general election will serve as a run-off between the top two vote-getters, unless one candidate wins a majority of the primary vote. 

Should Nuñez win the supervisor seat, he would be required to vacate his role as board chair of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District, which operates Watsonville Community Hospital. He also would leave his role as marketing and communications manager for nonprofit Community Bridges. 

Candidate for District 4 Santa Cruz County supervisor Tony Nuñez. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Nunez played a part in transitioning the hospital into becoming a public-owned facility after it survived bankruptcy in 2023. He is currently part of the effort to find an external partner to help manage the facility’s day-to-day operations. The hospital reported a nearly $23 million loss for 2025, following a flurry of challenges including a decline in patients and changes to state and federal funding. 

“I think that we’re really close to actually moving something forward that I think can stabilize the hospital and can start to get us out of the situation we’re in right now,” he said.

Nuñez said he’ll continue supporting the hospital and its journey to financial stability as a supervisor level by working with regional, state and federal representatives: “I think that I can still do really great things, and I can move the conversation forward that we’ve started with the health care district and the hospital.” 

County officials have faced scrutiny from residents in South County in the past year over the development of an ordinance that would regulate battery storage plants, and more specifically over a proposal by Massachusetts-based developer New Leaf Energy to build a facility on Minto Road outside Watsonville. 

At Lookout’s candidate forum last week, Nuñez said many of the residents he’s spoken with have told him they’re against the New Leaf project and were concerned about potential impacts to public health. During the forum, he told community members he was against the project. 

The overall perception of these facilities has changed following the 2025 Moss Landing fire, said Nuñez. He said he would support battery storage facilities, but only if they are done “in the right way” and with public safety at the top of the priority list. 

“What would the trade-offs be of bringing something so close to all of the residents around the area there?” Nuñez said. “It might look like a rural area of the community or of the county or our region, but really there’s houses right next door.” 

He’s also worried about the agricultural land being used for the project. The site where New Leaf is proposing its plant sits on an apple orchard. “I have concerns about agricultural land being rezoned in a piecemeal kind of fashion,” he said. 

Immigration fears continue to affect community members at all levels in South County since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have visited Watsonville at least 23 times since January 2025; nine of those visits happened within the first two months of 2026. 

To ensure that members of the immigrant community feel they belong and are safe to do everyday tasks, Nuñez said that people need to stand in solidarity with them, and  communicate to them that there are resources available. 

He believes the county is on the right path with the creation of a subcommittee to help prepare for possible impacts of immigration operations on county residents, along with an ordinance barring ICE agents from using county property for enforcement activities. 

However, he said Santa Cruz County needs to determine how many undocumented families in the county are without legal representation, and figure out how to support immigration lawyers aiding these families. 

“There’s a real need for more legal representation for immigrant populations,” he said. “It’s not even that lawyers don’t want to take on these cases … the immigration attorneys are trying to help, they’re extremely committed to the work, and they want to do more and they can’t do more.” 

Tony Nuñez (far left) speaks during an April 15 Lookout forum for District 4 Santa Cruz County supervisor candidates. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Nuñez also wants to increase economic development in South County. Watsonville doesn’t have a hospitality and tourism industry, he said; the local economy is primarily driven by agriculture and nonprofits. He’d like to work with city officials to figure out how to develop tourism in Watsonville.

“It starts with working with the city on how the county can be a better partner for revitalizing its downtown,” he said. 

The big issue the county is struggling with is bringing in additional revenue to fund programs in order to meet the community’s needs, Nuñez said. County staff are forecasting a $23.2 million deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and a long-term structural deficit that could reach $67.5 million by 2028-29 in the absence of mitigating actions.

One of the initiatives Nuñez wants to create is a robust down-payment assistance program for local residents, specifically in South County, to help increase homeownership. But he acknowledged that those things take money and time to achieve. 

“The No. 1 thing that we can do is try to solve our local economy, and really try to drive new businesses into Watsonville and into South County and into the county,” he said. “If we’re not putting a lot of our effort into that, then we’re just going to keep coming up into the same issue, which is, we don’t have enough funding, we don’t have enough revenue.”

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The post Supervisor candidate Tony Nuñez says key to meeting community needs is to increase economic development in South County appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz’s largest celebration of Oaxacan culture, which recognizes the Mexican state’s diverse music, food and arts, returns to the city this weekend. 

In preparation for the guelaguetza, Isai Pazos, executive director of local nonprofit Senderos, said the organization wanted to learn where most of the region’s Indigenous community from the state of Oaxaca resided. 

So, the organization placed a callout to the community, searching for potential performers — from dancers to musicians — for this year’s event, he said. The organization, Pazos said, received responses from people locally in Watsonville, where there is a high population of Indigenous people, and from surrounding areas such as San Jose, Seaside and Palo Alto. 

Sunday’s event will showcase nearly 150 performers — including Senderos’ youth dance troupe — in addition to food vendors bringing traditional Oaxacan dishes, such as mole and tlayudas. Attendees will also have a chance to purchase crafts and souvenirs from artisans. 

“The purpose of us putting this together is to show other communities in general that we are here as a community to help each other,” Pazos said. The word guelaguetza in Zapotec — one of 16 Indigenous languages spoken in Oaxaca — means helping someone without receiving anything in exchange, he said. 

Typically, the festivities kick off a few days before the main gathering with a procession from Branciforte Avenue into downtown and its “Music and Mole” event, but this year, Pazos told Lookout, Senderos is pausing the pre-events to prioritize safety amid ongoing immigration fears. Last year, the organization almost canceled the event for similar reasons. 

“I think it’s very important for us to just be safe and make sure that every family feels safe and welcome,” Pazos said. 

While the event is meant to be a celebration of Oaxacan culture, Pazos said it’s also an invitation for all community members to learn about and enjoy the culture. The guelaguetza will also be the final event of the inaugural Ripple Effect arts festival. 

“It’s beautiful to see that a lot of community members are interested,” Pazos said. “I’m also interested to see and hear from other community members that are going to the event for the first time.”

Senderos’ 21st guelaguetza will be held on Sunday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Branciforte Small Schools campus, 840 N. Branciforte Ave., Santa Cruz. Admission is $10, and children under 5 are free.

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In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against Watsonville’s Graniterock, development continuing in downtown Santa Cruz and plenty more names, numbers and dates to know.

The post This week in Santa Cruz County business: Graniterock facing lawsuit over Pajaro River; housing development at former Outdoor World site moves forward appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.