City celebrates end of wharf reopening
More than 100 people attended a reopening ceremony celebrating the completion of the $1.3 million repair of the historic Santa Cruz Wharf’s southern end.
A 150-foot section of the wharf partially collapsed on Dec. 23, 2024, after powerful waves battered the Santa Cruz coastline, causing widespread damage.
Fourth District Supervisor Scott Newsome called the reopening significant for the community.
“This is the official opening of the south end of the wharf,” he said. “It’s a space for residents, visitors and families to come together, enjoy sweeping views of the bay, watch the sea lions and experience what the wharf has to offer.”
Newsome said there are no immediate plans for additional development at the site, but community meetings are expected to begin this summer about the future of the wharf’s southern end, including the possibility of extending it farther.
The post City celebrates end of wharf reopening appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.
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El Concejo Municipal de Capitola evaluará cambiar a elecciones por distritos para evitar litigios
Esta traducción fue generada utilizando inteligencia artificial y ha sido revisada por un hablante nativo de español; si bien nos esforzamos por lograr precisión, pueden ocurrir algunos errores de traducción. Para leer el artículo en inglés, haga clic aquí.
El Concejo Municipal de Capitola discutirá un posible cambio de un sistema electoral general a uno por distritos mientras la ciudad enfrenta un posible litigio de un bufete de abogados del sur de California.
Abogados de Shenkman & Hughes, con sede en Malibu, enviaron una carta a funcionarios de la ciudad en marzo, recomendando que inicie voluntariamente el proceso para cambiar a elecciones por distritos antes de la fecha límite del 5 de mayo o enfrente una demanda.
La base de la queja del bufete es que las elecciones generales privan de derechos a las comunidades minoritarias.
En una sesión especial el jueves, los concejales decidirán si aprueban una resolución que declare la intención de la ciudad de comenzar la transición a elecciones por distritos y autorizar un acuerdo con un consultor demógrafo.
Si la resolución se aprueba, la ciudad tendría 90 días para completar el cambio a elecciones por distritos, según un informe del personal. El proceso incluiría dos audiencias públicas antes de que se tracen los mapas, junto con divulgación pública.
El bufete afirma que la forma actual en que los residentes de Capitola eligen a los concejales viola la Ley de Derechos Electorales de California de 2001(CVRA). La ley busca dar a las comunidades minoritarias privadas de derechos más poder de voto en elecciones locales. Casi 229 ciudades en California han cambiado a elecciones por distritos, según un informe de Claremont McKenna College.
El abogado de la ciudad de Capitola, Marc Tran, dijo al concejo la semana pasada que los casos relacionados con la CVRA no requieren que los demandantes prueben si las ciudades con elecciones generales son intencionalmente discriminatorias, lo que hace que este tipo de casos sea difícil de defender.
Shenkman & Hughes tiene un historial de demandar o amenazar con demandar a ciudades y juntas escolares desde 2012, y ha ganado casi todas las demandas que el bufete ha presentado, según un informe del San Francisco Chronicle.
El bufete afirma que el sistema general de Capitola diluye la capacidad de los residentes latinos para elegir a un candidato de su preferencia “o de otro modo influir en el resultado de la elección del concejo municipal.” Los latinos actualmente representan alrededor del 26.5% de la población de casi 10,000 residentes de Capitola, según datos de la Oficina del Censo de Estados Unidos.
Bajo el sistema general de Capitola, los candidatos al concejo municipal pueden postularse para cualquier escaño disponible y representar a la comunidad en general. Todos los votantes eligen quién representa esos escaños. Por ejemplo, en la elección de noviembre de 2024, en la que dos escaños del concejo estaban disponibles, los dos candidatos con más votos fueron declarados ganadores.
En las elecciones por distritos, sin embargo, los concejales representan un vecindario específico, en el que también viven. Los votantes pueden votar solo por los candidatos que representan su distrito. Las ciudades de Santa Cruz y Watsonville usan este modelo para elegir a los concejales. Scotts Valley, al igual que Capitola, tiene elecciones generales.
Shenkman & Hughes usa la elección reciente como ejemplo de cómo la estructura general de Capitola viola la Ley de Derechos Electorales de California.
“Enrique Dolmo Jr. recibió un apoyo significativo de votantes latinos, pero perdió debido a la falta de apoyo de votantes blancos no hispanos,” según la carta de marzo. Dolmo recibió 1,430 votos en la votación del concejo municipal de 2024, más de 1,300 votos detrás del candidato con más votos.
En 2020, la ciudad de Santa Cruz enfrentó una amenaza de demanda similar. Santa Cruz cambió oficialmente a elecciones por distritos después de que los votantes aprobaron la Medida E, una iniciativa que estableció los seis distritos de la ciudad y un alcalde elegido directamente, y realizó su primera elección por distritos durante las primarias de marzo de 2024.
Durante la transición de Santa Cruz fuera de elecciones generales, ex políticos dijeron a Lookout en 2022 que eran escépticos sobre cómo las elecciones por distritos llevarían a una representación diversa en el concejo.
La ciudad de Watsonville enfrentó una demanda en 1989, que llegó hasta el nivel de tribunal federal, y perdió. El tribunal determinó que las elecciones generales de Watsonville diluían el poder de voto de sus residentes latinos, que constituyen la mayoría de su población.
¿Tiene algo que decir? Lookout da la bienvenida a cartas al editor, dentro de nuestras políticas, de los lectores. Directrices aquí.
The post El Concejo Municipal de Capitola evaluará cambiar a elecciones por distritos para evitar litigios appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.
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Every ‘Mike’ in America Can Get a Free Steak & Cheese Melt From Firehouse Subs
Here’s an interesting fact about Firehouse Subs: the company’s President is named Mike Hancock. What? You don’t think that’s especially noteworthy? Hold on. Here’s another interesting fact: Firehouse Subs just debuted a “new and improved” Steak & Cheese Melt to its menu nationwide. Still not that intrigued? Here comes the payoff. An even more interesting fact: next week the restaurant chain is giving away a free Steak & Cheese Melt to every Mike/Michael/Mikey/Miguel/Michelle/Michele/Michaela in America.
And the most interesting fact of them all: I, Mikey Walsh, am known by four of those names.
Firehouse SubsFirehouse Subs has announced that on Wednesday, May 6, any customer with a name in the “Mike family” can stop by for a free, no-strings-attached medium Steak & Cheese Melt at participating U.S. locations.
The chain is calling it the “best steak sub” they’ve ever made. The protein-packed submarine sandwich (42 grams in a mediu) features flame-seared USDA Choice prime rib, provolone, brown sugar caramelized onions, and red and green bell peppers on a top-cut roll.
The Firehouse Subs giveaway’s official press release cites no specific reason for why it’s singling out Mikes for free subs rather than say the Chrises or Daniels of America. It does, however, include a statement from Mike Hancock. “We’re proud of this sub – the prime rib, the caramelized onions, the top-cut roll,” said Mike. “Once people try it, we think it earns its place among the best steak subs out there. Sharing it with every Mike in America felt like a great way to kick things off.”
The company also shared this video which shows it’s very much in on the joke.
I like the way you think, Mike. I also like that some people call me Michael, some call me Mike, some call me Mikey, and my friend Joe calls me Miguel. (Great foresight 22 years ago, Joey Joe Joe!)
Do I, as a valued member of the Mike community plan to take advantage of this free Firehouse Subs offer? Let’s just say if anyone wants to call me by yet another “Mike” variation before May 6 I strongly encourage that.
The post Every ‘Mike’ in America Can Get a Free Steak & Cheese Melt From Firehouse Subs appeared first on Nerdist.
‘Dark’ Live-Action CASPER Series in the Works From Steven Spielberg
Did you find 1995’s Casper movie—a story about a dead child ghost helping a young girl cope with her mother’s death—too uplifting? Okay, a little weird, but good news. Disney is reportedly ready to give you a slightly darker take on the classic character. It’s developing a new, modern live-action Casper series from executive producer Steven Spielberg. And it’s said to be more like Netflix’s Wednesday than the beloved Christina Ricci/Bill Pullman film.Universal Pictures
Deadline reports Disney+ won a bidding war for a new Casper the Friendly Ghost series. It comes from Disney+ Goosebumps‘ Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston. The two will write the show with Letterman directing. The duo will also serve as executive producers alongside Steven Spielberg. He filled the same role on the 1995 film. After years of mergers and buy-outs, the rights issues means the Disney+ show will also be a co-production between DreamWorks Animation TV and Universal Studio Group’s UCP. Universal Pictures distributed the Ricci/Pullman film, which Spielberg’s Amblin Films co-produced.
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Steven Spielberg Says Trailers Shouldn’t Show Act 3 Footage (And He’s Right!)According to Deadline‘s Nellie Andreeva, while the series is very early in its development, it’s expected to be a “modern update.” It will have a “dark edge” reminiscent of Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. (The report also notes the show will use CGI. So sorry real ghosts hoping to audition! You’re out of luck!)
Universal PicturesConsidering Tim Burton’s take on The Addams Family has been a ratings bonanza for Netflix, it’s easy to understand why Disney+ might want to take a similar approach to Casper. However, unlike The Addams Family, which has always been weird, Casper is quite famously a friendly ghost. Even a “darker” version might not be that dark.
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WEDNESDAY Season 3 Production Arrives in ParisOf course, as we noted at the start of this post, the 1995 Casper is based on some pretty dark ideas! That underlying tension and sadness obviously worked. Kids who grew up with that film (in a way Casper never did) still love it.
Geez, sorry. That “growing up” joke was pretty dark. If you liked it, though, something tells us you’re definitely going to watch this new Disney+ Casper show.
The post ‘Dark’ Live-Action CASPER Series in the Works From Steven Spielberg appeared first on Nerdist.
Push for raw milk intensifies—despite illness outbreaks and scientists’ warnings
Backers of raw milk are pushing to make the potentially dangerous product more widely available and easier to obtain, even as a new outbreak — one of at least five in the past year — sickens U.S. children. More than three dozen bills supporting raw milk have been introduced in statehouses across the nation, The Associated Press found. A growing number of states are making it legal to sell.