Santa Cruz Local

Santa Cruz Local recently published a three-part investigation into how public money is spent on homeless services in Santa Cruz County. In today’s episode, we’ll discuss why we took on this investigation and several of the key takeaways from our reporting. We also hear from some key leaders in homeless services management. Read the transcript with links to our related stories. santacruzlocal.org/...

In today’s episode we meet the five candidates for Capitola City Council. They are Yvette Lopez Brooks, Joe Clarke, Enrique Dolmo Jr., Gerry Jensen and Alexander Pedersen. The five candidates are running for three seats. They appear before Capitola voters on the Nov. 8 ballot. We explain what a council member does. Then we press the candidates on the issues important to Capitola residents. Read th...

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. For the first time, Santa Cruz voters will choose a mayor. We meet the two candidates: Joy Schendledecker and Fred Keeley. We explain the new format for Santa Cruz City Council elections and the new mayoral role. Then we press the candidates on the issues important to Santa Cruz residents. Read the transcript with links to our related stories. https://santacruzloca...

We meet two candidates for Santa Cruz City Council: Renee Golder and Sean Maxwell. They’re running for the District 6 seat on the Nov. 8 ballot. You’ll vote in the District 6 council race if you live in these areas: areas of the Lower Westside west of Younglove Avenue and Columbia Street; areas along Western Drive; and a western part of the UC Santa Cruz main campus. We explain what a council memb...

We meet three candidates for Santa Cruz City Council: Hector Marin, Gregory Hyver and Scott Newsome. They’re running for the District 4 seat on the Nov. 8 ballot. You’ll vote in the District 4 council race if you live in these areas: Downtown; Beach Flats; part of the Upper Westside, east of Bay Street and south of High Street; and areas along Mission Street generally east of Laurent Street. We ex...

In the Nov. 8 election, Scotts Valley voters will choose two city council members. In today’s episode we’ll learn about the role of a council member. Then we’ll meet the three candidates: Derek Timm, Allan Timms and Jim Reed. Santa Cruz Local presses the candidates on the issues important to Scotts Valley residents. Read the transcript with links to our related stories. https://tinyurl.com/ep-99-t...

Santa Cruz Local wants you to decide what the local candidates talk about as they compete for your vote in the Nov. 8 election. This year, Santa Cruz Local’s team conducted nearly 300 interviews and collected 150 survey responses from Santa Cruz County residents. Here is what residents told us they want from local government, in order of frequency: - Affordable housing development - Help paying re...

In the June 7 primary election, North Coast and Santa Cruz residents will choose a new District 3 representative on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. We hear from residents about their priorities for the election. Then we meet candidates Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, Justin Cummings and Ami Chen Mills and press them on residents’ concerns. We hear from the candidates on their plans to: Deve...

Bakersfield and Kern County, California, solved chronic homelessness in part through better coordination of service providers, shared housing databases and a fearless approach to experimentation and results monitoring. Despite Santa Cruz County’s housing shortage, there are lessons from Kern County that start with making housing searches more efficient for the unhoused. In Santa Cruz Local Ep. 96,...

We hear from four Santa Cruz County residents: a 25-year-old caregiver in Santa Cruz, a 54-year-old janitor in Watsonville, a father of three in Santa Cruz and a 24-year-old sales associate in Capitola. They share their experiences with homelessness and the keys to getting housed. This episode is part of Santa Cruz Local’s Solutions to Homelessness Series. Read the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/...

Responses to mental health crises are set to change in Santa Cruz County with a new 988 system as an alternative to 911. Non-police responses are expected to be dispatched through the system, and advocates say the 24-hour, non-police system is overdue. Santa Cruz Local’s Stephen Baxter talks to Assemblymember Mark Stone, advocate Jeffrey Arlt and others about the mental health crisis response in t...

Tuesday, the Santa Cruz City Council will consider a proposed law that aims to prevent large homeless camps by limiting where and when people can camp and requiring most tents to be removed each morning. We explain the proposal. And we hear from three Santa Cruz residents who are homeless. We hear their stories: their goals, their barriers and their thoughts about the proposed law. Support local j...

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a need for mental health services in Santa Cruz County’s public schools. We hear from a director at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education about virtual mentoring, an approach that has shown promise in addressing student mental health needs. We discuss how it works and where it falls short. This episode is the third in Santa Cruz Local’s Distance Learning Serie...

Were some COVID-19 deaths preventable in Santa Cruz County long-term care facilities? This episode investigates why some senior homes — which had more than half of the COVID deaths in the county — waited for vaccines through January while others received vaccines. Separately, the episode includes a conversation with contributing reporter Jerimiah Oetting and Santa Cruz Local's Kara Meyberg Guzman...

Many students in Santa Cruz County feel stressed and disconnected after months of online-only school. We hear from three Aptos High students about their social and emotional well-being needs. A program administrator responds to these stories and shares tips on how adults can help. This episode is the second in Santa Cruz Local’s Distance Learning series. Listen to part one of this series: Public e...

This episode is the first in Santa Cruz Local's Distance Learning series. Today we explore how the state's public education system is organized and funded, and how decisions are made. Many of you wanted to know: How can students, parents and teachers make their voice heard in such a huge, complicated system? We hear from former county superintendent Michael Watkins and state Sen. John Laird on the...

In the wake of the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in Santa Cruz County, this episode explores forest management policies in the state and county. It also looks at the role of prescribed burns in land management in the county, and a new Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association. Support local journalism with a Santa Cruz Local membership: https://santacruzlocal.org/membership/ Subscribe to Santa Cruz L...

Santa Cruz Local presses the Santa Cruz City Council candidates on the priorities we heard from residents: housing and homelessness. We meet eight of the nine city council candidates: Martine Watkins, Sandy Brown, Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, Kelsey Hill, Kayla Kumar, Maria Cadenas, Elizabeth Conlan and Sonja Brunner. Voters will pick four. Read the transcript: https://santacruzlocal.org/2020/10/18/...

Santa Cruz Local presses the five Watsonville City Council candidates on the priorities we heard from residents: affordable housing development, city-sponsored youth programs, the high cost of rent and more. We break down the differences between District 2 candidates Aurelio Gonzalez and Vanessa Quiroz-Carter, District 6 candidates Jimmy Dutra and Tony Gomez, and District 1 candidate Eduardo Monte...

If you’re a voter in Live Oak, Pleasure Point, Soquel, western Capitola or the Santa Cruz Mountains north of Soquel, you’ll vote on the District 1 Santa Cruz County supervisors race. But even if you don’t live in the district, this race still matters to you. The decisions of the board of supervisors affect the entire county. We press incumbent John Leopold and challenger Manu Koenig on the priorit...

Santa Cruz Local has interviewed and surveyed about 50 Scotts Valley residents in recent months to hear their priorities for the Scotts Valley City Council race. Today, we press the candidates — John Lewis, Donna Lind, Jack Dilles and Randy Johnson — on the concerns of residents. Listen to the candidates’ views on housing, supporting local business, stabilizing the city budget, school funding and...

We hear from Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce McPherson with an update on the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. McPherson’s district covers San Lorenzo Valley, which has been hard hit by the fire. McPherson shares an update on the fire response. He also describes his tour Monday of San Lorenzo Valley and what damage he saw. Read more stories on the wildfire: https://santacruzlocal.org/ Find resources,...

COVID-19 shutdowns have hurt many locals on the brink of poverty because of the county’s high cost of living. About 40% of Santa Cruz County residents have received some food assistance since the COVID-19 shelter orders began in March, according to Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County staff. We hear from four people on the margins, from San Lorenzo Valley to Watsonville. We hear how COVID sh...

Residents’ recent calls to reduce police presence and funding in Santa Cruz County come at the same time police say they are overburdened with calls for mental health care and homelessness. We explore the aftermath of two recent, fatal police shootings in our county that involved mental health — and how harm could be avoided. Looking toward solutions, we examine a program in Oregon that dispatches...

Santa Cruz County on Monday recorded its largest single-day increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Local health leaders say the uptick is worrisome but expected, as businesses reopen. We hear advice from infectious disease expert and UC Santa Cruz professor Marm Kilpatrick on small ways people can be safer as they venture out. And we share what we know so far about the recent uptick, how the virus...