Local News

This post is updated throughout the day to reflect the latest incidents. It was last updated at 7:01 a.m..

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

▼︎ new incidents   ▼︎ long-term incidents

Road incidents as of 7 a.m. on June 18

• There is one-way traffic on Highway 9 at Cascade Avenue in San Lorenzo Valley because of ongoing work. The closure is expected to end at 7:01 a.m. on August 31.
   
• There will be alternating lane closures on Highway 9 at Pool Drive in San Lorenzo Valley because of bridge work. This will continue until April 30 at 6:59 a.m.
   
• A lane on North Highway 17 at Highway 1 in Eastside / Live Oak is closed for asphalt paving. The closure will last until 6:01 a.m. on June 22.
   
• North Highway 17 at Pasatiempo in Eastside / Live Oak is facing closures for asphalt paving. The closure will last until 6:01 a.m. on June 22.
   
• CHP helped with construction work at 1600 Mm9 N Scr 16.00 in San Lorenzo Valley today from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
   

Long-term projects

These have been going on for a while, but are still worth keeping in mind.

• Mill St. between Main St. and Highway 9 in Ben Lomond will be closed to vehicles from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on June 6, July 4, August 1, September 5, and October 3 for the Ben Lomond Village Market event. Traffic control and detour signs will be posted.
   

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: Highway 9 one-way traffic, Hwy 17 lane closures ongoing appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Celebrating 50 years, the Aptos farmers market – held Saturdays at Cabrillo College – captures not just the bounty and hard work of dozens of vendors but also comes with a wealth of stories from those manning the stands and working behind the scenes.

UC Santa Cruz graduate Airielle Silva was honored with the John R. Lewis Good Trouble Award after five years of student leadership and activism. As she addressed fellow graduates at commencement, Silva reflected on her advocacy work while urging the university to continue addressing longstanding Black student demands.

Santa Cruz’s rental inspection program was created to protect tenants from unsafe housing, but property owner Darius Mohsenin argues it has evolved into a system focused more on permits, paperwork and minor violations than actual habitability. He contends that inspectors increasingly rely on bureaucratic enforcement rather than practical safety expertise, allowing complaints to trigger sweeping property inspections and costly citations. He urges the Santa Cruz City Council to refocus the program on genuine health and safety issues instead of what he sees as regulatory overreach that raises housing costs and strains relationships with property owners.

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

A union wants California’s billionaires to rescue the state’s healthcare system. The billionaires have other ideas.

On June 17, an initiative to tax the state’s wealthiest residents qualified for the ballot, according to the secretary of state’s office, which verifies petition signatures.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has consistently swatted down the idea of tax increases throughout his tenure, emerged early as an opponent of the proposed tax. Wealthy allies in Silicon Valley joined the fray armed with deep pockets and threats to leave the state, which depends disproportionately on high earners for revenue.

The union funding the measure, Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, says California needs the revenue that would be generated by the measure to rescue the healthcare system from deep cuts that the Trump administration made last year in the president’s tax reform package, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Newsom is reportedly trying to negotiate a last-minute deal that would pull the initiative before the ballot is finalized next Thursday, June 25.

What would it do?

The proposed initiative would levy a one-time 5% tax on California residents whose net worth exceeded $1 billion at the start of this year. The tax would hit roughly 200 people, and billionaires could pay in installments over five years. 

Proponents of the measure estimate it would generate $100 billion for the state. The revenue would go into a special fund with 90% reserved for healthcare spending and 10% for education and food assistance programs. 

The Legislature would control the funds and could allocate up to $25 billion annually to designated programs including Medi-Cal and CalFresh.

It needs a simple majority to pass. 

Who is supporting it?

The state’s largest healthcare workers union is bankrolling the measure, pouring more than $31 million into the campaign. “We are facing literally a collapse of our healthcare system here in California and elsewhere,” Dave Regan, president of SEIU-UHW, said in October when the campaign launched.

The union, which is known for wielding ballot measures aggressively, argues that federal healthcare cuts will result in hospital and clinic closures, worsened patient access and thousands of lost jobs if the state doesn’t step in to backfill tens of billions of federal dollars. The group also points out that the Trump tax breaks for income, businesses and investments disproportionately benefit the wealthy people who would then be subject to the proposed billionaire tax.

“Whether or not folks support this, they can’t deny that these massive cuts to healthcare are coming,” said union spokesperson Renée Saldaña. “Nobody else has a solution to fill this massive $100 billion funding gap that is facing California.”

Saldaña noted that people signing the initiative petition were supportive and sometimes wanted the tax to be continuous rather than one-time. 

“This is popular. The public is feeling the strain of their own healthcare costs,” she said.

The measure has won high-profile support from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. A handful of local unions as well as the Teamsters and AFSCME California have also backed the measure.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (left) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are on opposite sides of a proposed tax on billionaires in the Golden State. Credit: Associated Press Who is opposed to it?

Newsom is an unsurprising and vocal critic of the proposal. He has long argued that increased taxes would drive wealthy people and businesses out of the state. In a recent appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Newsom claimed that “we’ve already seen dozens and dozens of people leave the state.”

Google co-founder Sergey Brin, with a net worth of $300 billion, according to Forbes, reportedly moved to Nevada because of the tax threat. Brin, a onetime supporter of liberal causes turned Donald Trump supporter, is also the biggest spender among opponents. As of June 15, he has contributed $82 million to Building a Better California, which is funding multiple countermeasures designed to invalidate or weaken the initiative should it pass. The committee has not, however, taken a position on the wealth tax.

The top two measures — the Retirement and Personal Savings Protection Act and the Improving Transparency, Effectiveness and Efficiency in California Government Act — will also likely appear on the November ballot. The retirement act would prohibit new state taxes on personal property, effectively canceling the billionaire tax if both measures pass. The transparency act would require audits of state programs funded by special taxes.

Other tech and industry titans, including Google CEO Eric Schmidt, worth $43.3 billion, Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr, worth $25 billion, and The Wonderful Company president Stewart Resnick, worth $5.4 billion, have donated millions of dollars to Brin’s committee.

Ripple Labs co-founder Chris Larsen, worth an estimated $12.4 billion, also started Golden State Promise, a political action committee dedicated to opposing the tax initiative directly. Venture capitalist Ron Conway, who does not appear on Forbes’ billionaires list, is funding a third group, Stop The Squeeze.

Collectively, the opposition campaigns have raised $107.9 million as of June 15, according to state campaign finance data.

Robert Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, said one of the most concerning parts of the proposal is a provision allowing the Legislature to amend the tax after passage. “They can change the level of taxation; they can change how often they get taxed; they can keep ratcheting down the income level of who pays it.” The union disputes this claim.

Progressive groups such as Planned Parenthood and the California Teachers Association have opposed the measure in recent weeks. Healthcare industry groups like the California Medical Association, California Primary Care Association and California Hospital Association also oppose it.

What’s really going on with healthcare?

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which Congress passed last year, enacts a number of sweeping changes to Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income people and those with disabilities. 

Over time, experts say the changes will dramatically reduce the number of people with publicly funded insurance through mandates such as work requirements and shorter eligibility periods. The law also limits federal Medicaid spending. Because Medicaid programs draw on state and federal dollars, reductions in enrollment or federal spending mean less money for states like California.

The state Department of Health Care Services projected early on that federal cuts could cost California $30 billion annually. Roughly 14 million people rely on Medicaid, also known as Medi-Cal, in California.

State lawmakers have also grappled with successive budget deficits and ballooning program costs. Last year, Newsom and the Legislature limited Medi-Cal enrollment for low-income people without legal status. State leaders are eyeing additional cuts this year to align with new federal requirements.

Miranda Dietz, director of the Health Care Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, said close to 3 million Californians will lose healthcare over the next two years as a result of state and federal changes. 

“The need for health insurance and healthcare is not going anywhere,” Dietz said.

What are the challenges?

Should the measure pass, it will surely face legal challenges that could tie the potential revenue up for years, experts say. The seemingly retroactive nature of the tax invites a constitutional challenge, many say, though supporters reject those concerns. The initiative proposes taxing those who are California residents as of Jan. 1, 2026, meaning those who have since left the state would still owe it. 

Mark Peterson, a public policy professor at UCLA School of Law, said revenue from the initiative would “make a huge difference” in helping the state offset federal funding losses, but that’s only if the initiative survives legal challenges and efforts by billionaires to move or hide assets.

Economists and state budget watchers are also wary of the number of billionaires who have already left the state, taking their assets and businesses with them. Only six people moved out of state last year before the proposed tax would apply to them, but their collective worth would have generated the state $27 billion, Fortune reported. Others, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, worth $231 billion, have also reportedly moved out but not before Jan. 1.

On the other hand, there’s no evidence yet that a majority of the state’s 200 billionaires are leaving. Some, including former gubernatorial candidate and billionaire Tom Steyer, have stated they support the proposal.

Early polling shows 50% of voters favor the initiative, with most strongly behind it, according to the UC Berkeley Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research-POLITICO poll. But that is not as strong a position as it might seem: 54% of voters are concerned about wealthy individuals leaving the state, and 63% are concerned about them taking their businesses with them. A UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies-Los Angeles Times poll from March showed similar division among voters, with 52% in support. 

Generally, campaigns running ballot initiatives want their early polling numbers to be much higher because support nearly always dwindles as the election creeps closer. 

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

The post California union’s billionaire tax qualifies for ballot amid fierce opposition appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This post is updated throughout the day to reflect the latest incidents. It was last updated at 6:31 a.m..

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

▼︎ new incidents   ▼︎ long-term incidents

Road incidents as of 6:30 a.m. on June 17

• Highway 152 (Main St.) in Watsonville will be fully closed overnight for paving starting Sunday, June 14. The closure will happen each night from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. between Freedom Blvd. and Lakeview Rd throughout the week.
   
• There will be alternating lane closures on both northbound and southbound Highway 9 at Pool Drive in San Lorenzo Valley because of bridge work. The closures will continue until 6:59 a.m. on April 30, 2027.
   
• There is a one-way traffic closure on Highway 9 at Cascade Avenue in San Lorenzo Valley because of ongoing work. This closure will last until August 31 at 7:01 a.m.
   
• North Highway 17 at Pasatiempo in Eastside / Live Oak is facing closures for asphalt paving. The closure is expected to end at 6:01 a.m. on June 22.
   
• A lane on North Highway 17 at Highway 1 in Eastside / Live Oak is closed for asphalt paving. The closure will last until 6:01 a.m. on June 22.
   
• One-way traffic control is in place on SR-236 at Heartwood Hill in San Lorenzo Valley for drainage cleaning. The closure is expected to end at 1:30 p.m. today.
   
• An animal was seen entering the main lanes on northbound Highway 1 at the Rdm offramp in Aptos. This was reported today.
   
• A lane on Mt. Hermon Road between Lockhart Gulch Road and Covenant Lane in San Lorenzo Valley was closed for county crews to trim trees and remove hazardous trees leaning over the road. The work ended at 4:00 p.m. yesterday.
   

Long-term projects

These have been going on for a while, but are still worth keeping in mind.

• County crews will close one lane on East Zayante Road between Woodwardia Ave. and West Zayante Rd in Scotts Valley for tree trimming and removal of hazardous trees hanging over the road. The work will take place today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
   
• Mill St. between Main St. and Highway 9 in Ben Lomond will be closed to vehicles from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on 6/6, 7/4, 8/1, 9/5, and 10/3 for the Ben Lomond Village Market event. Traffic control and detour signs will be posted.
   

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: Overnight Hwy 152 closure, Hwy 9 lane closures, paving on Hwy 17 appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

In a tough budget year, Santa Cruz County is proposing to create an alternate public defender’s office to help reduce costs and maintain its holistic defense model, which connects clients with social workers and services. The move, however, would end a longstanding contract with a local law firm.

In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko notes highlights for Climatize and the Santa Cruz Warriors, what South County farmers are hearing in the wake of bad news from Martinelli’s and plenty more comings, goings and dates to know.

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

At Pinedale Elementary in Fresno, there are almost no classroom aides, after-school tutors or behavioral counselors. Literacy activities and parent workshops are scarce. Field trips? Almost nonexistent. The school survives on one of the lowest per-pupil expenditures in the state: $16,700 a year, nearly $5,000 below the state average.

Less than 2 miles away, it’s a different story at Kratt Elementary, which is in a different school district. Kratt has almost identical demographics – predominantly low-income and Latino –  but gets $25,000 per student and has the amenities to show for it. 

And a few hours west in the Bay Area, you’ll find Portola Valley Elementary, which spends almost $46,000 per student annually. It offers music and art classes, mental health counselors, small class sizes and state-of-the-art facilities.

The way California’s school funding works, schools with large numbers of students who are low-income, English learners, homeless or in foster care get extra funding. Schools in wealthy areas get less state funding but make up for it in local property taxes and parent donations. But those in the middle? They get much less money overall.  

“When I saw what other schools provide, I was like, what?” said Tania Galeana-King, a mother of three and parent volunteer at Pinedale. “As a parent, it’s really frustrating. I’ve heard of No Child Left Behind, but this is like half the kids left behind.”  

Low funding, low test scores

When California adopted the Local Control Funding Formula a little more than a decade ago, the idea was to bring equity to school funding and ensure students with the most needs got more support. But soaring costs, declining enrollment and inflation have led to gaping disparities in school funding.

Those in the wealthiest areas, such as Portola Valley, Menlo Park and other Silicon Valley enclaves, are typically “basic aid” districts, meaning they get most of their funding through local property taxes. Parents chip in the rest, often millions of dollars a year.  

School districts that are not basic aid get their money through the state’s Local Control Funding Formula, which includes a base grant plus extra money depending how many students are low-income, English learners, homeless or in foster care. If more than 55% fall into that category, districts get even more money.

That’s why Fresno Unified, where Kratt Elementary is located, gets significantly more money than Pinedale Elementary, which is located in Clovis Unified. Clovis, where just under half the students are considered high-needs, receives little extra funding.

Pinedale Elementary School in Fresno. Credit: Larry Valenzuela / CalMatters

The consequences of the funding disparities are reflected in students’ test scores. At Pinedale, fewer than 30% of students met the state’s English language arts standard last year. Only 23.5% met the math standard. Kratt students scored 5 to 10 percentage points higher on both tests. At Portola Valley, about 85% of students met the standard on both tests.

“I’d say the problem is urgent,” said Michael Johnston, associate superintendent at Clovis Unified, noting the impact on student learning at schools with less funding. “For many, many years, these kids have not gotten the same resources, and every year that goes by, it gets worse. It’s a group of students we are not treating fairly, and there needs to be a solution.”

Solutions in Sacramento

A bill in the state Senate seeks to fix the problem. Authored by Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from San Jose, Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 would create a reserve account funded by surplus tax revenues in economically flush years. After the state doles out its Proposition 98 money – California’s primary vehicle for funding schools – every year, it would give extra funding to schools that aren’t in basic aid districts. The money would come from the interest generated on the reserve account. As the account grows, the extra funding would grow.

“Over time, we think this bill can certainly stop the bleeding,” said Cortese, whose district includes a dozen basic aid districts. “If we do nothing, the problem is just going to get worse and worse.”

Cortese’s bill would amend the state constitution. If it passes the Legislature, the proposal would appear on the fall ballot. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget also attempts to address the problem, providing almost $1 billion more toward school base grants. 

That’s good news to the Association of California School Administrators. Although the money isn’t enough, it’s a start, said Naj Alikhan, the organization’s spokesman.

“[We] strongly support efforts to raise the base grant,” Alikhan said. “The LCFF base grant is the foundation of school funding in California, and increasing it is one of the most effective ways to provide schools with greater stability, flexibility, and capacity to meet local needs.”

Another bill, put forth by Assemblymember David Alvarez, a Democrat from Chula Vista, would expand school funding for high-needs students, but some worry that it would actually make funding shortfalls worse for some districts. Instead of raising the base grant, the bill would redirect more money to schools with large numbers of high-needs students.

Cutting the basics

David Roth, superintendent of Buckeye Union Elementary School District in El Dorado County, has gathered a cadre of school administrators to oppose Alvarez’s bill and fight for an increase in the base grant. 

He’s created a database called Raise the Base, which calculates school districts’ funding disparities over the past 15 years. About 25 parent organizations and 60 small and mid-sized school districts have signed on to support Roth’s campaign. Among the largest: Clovis Unified, Fremont Unified, San Ramon Valley Unified and Murrieta Valley Unified. 

“We support the idea that some student populations need more resources. At the end of the day, we’re all underfunded,” Roth said. “But the base grant has not kept up with escalating costs, and districts are falling further and further behind.”

Buckeye, a K-12 district in the Sierra foothills, receives only $15,100 per student, far below the state average of $21,000. The district has pockets of wealth, but also areas of poverty. Because of low per-pupil funding the district is in jeopardy of losing long-standing programs that serve all students, Roth said.

If base funding doesn’t improve, Roth anticipates cuts to P.E., libraries, counselors and music in the next few years.

“In my mind, these are the basics,” Roth said. “We’re patching things together now with bubblegum and shoestrings, but that can’t last forever. Soon we’ll be unable to fund a reasonable education program.”

‘There’s such a demand’

Pinedale Elementary is in a working-class neighborhood in north Fresno with no sidewalks and a smattering of crime and homelessness. Galeana-King described the area as tough but close-knit. “Everyone looks after each other,” she said.

Tania Galeana-King at Pinedale Elementary School in Fresno. All three of Galeana-King’s sons attended Pinedale Elementary School. Credit: Larry Valenzuela / CalMatters

Galeana-King has been a parent at Pinedale for 15 years – all three of her children attended the school. She volunteers in the classroom and is active in the parent club, which raises a few thousand dollars a year through after-school snack sales, a salsa festival, jog-a-thon and other events.

But it’s not easy raising money in a community where most parents work multiple jobs to make ends meet. 

“We have to be understanding,” Galeana-King said. “We want families to participate, but we need to be reasonable. People are struggling.”

Teachers often pay for classroom supplies out of their own pockets, while the parent club pays for things like new chess boards for the chess club and the second-grade field trip to Monterey. But the needs are endless. If the parent club could raise more money, they’d like to provide snacks for the classrooms, new sports equipment, backpacks for students and other amenities. 

“I’m incredibly proud to send my kids to Pinedale. It might not always have the most financial resources, but it has a school full of people who deeply care about and love the kids,” she said. “That said, our students and staff urgently need more support.”

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

The post Some California schools get three times more funding than others. Here’s why appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This week’s letters and online comments range from World Cup frustration and political outrage to praise for local institutions and debate over beach access.

Roots reggae legends Israel Vibration & Roots Radics bring their Kingston-born sound to Moe’s Alley on Friday, June 19, in a Santa Cruz calendar week packed with music, theater and art.

Steel Bonnet Brewing expands toward Salinas while its Scotts Valley outpost becomes an experimental hub, H&H Fresh Seafood opens on the Westside, and Toriman brings Japanese market and sake-tasting energy to the local dining scene.

At Watsonville’s Miyuki Restaurant, longtime server and sushi chef Chris Ishikawa helps preserve a home-cooked Japanese dining tradition built on loyal regulars, standout sushi and a Wednesday-only signature ramen that has earned its own local following.

Santa Cruz native Oliver Tree Nickell, the musician, performance artist and internet star known for his fearless weirdness, global reach and deep local roots, is remembered by the community after his death in a Brazilian helicopter crash.

Espressivo’s season finale brings Mendelssohn, Sibelius and Copland’s Appalachian Spring to life, while Santa Cruz stages and galleries prepare for Kay Martin, Sister Act, 36 North and Boomeria.

Santa Cruz writer Wallace Baine’s debut novel, Founding Daughter, imagines a startling alternate history in which the Declaration of Independence’s most famous ideals come not from Thomas Jefferson, but from a brilliant teenage servant girl with everything at stake.

Brad Kava reflects on American absurdity, Wallace Baine’s provocative new novel, the loss of Oliver Tree, Brett Dennen’s artful show and local community news.

After three years on Portola Drive, And Friends Art Gallery is moving into a larger, more visible Pleasure Point location, expanding its role as a showcase for local artists, handmade goods and community connection.

UCSC grad Brett Dennen brings a new kind of performance to Felton Music Hall on Wednesday, June 17, pairing his singer-songwriter catalog with paintings that invite the audience into the conversation.

One of the teen victims killed in a two-car crash just outside Watsonville Sunday night has been identified as Carlos Angeles from Soquel. His passenger, a 17-year-old girl, also died at the scene.

The crash occurred around 8:45pm  at the intersection of East Lake Avenue and Casserly Road between a white Infiniti sedan and a gray Toyota sedan, California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murillo said.

A GoFundMe campaign created for Angeles describes him as a self-taught guitarist who was preparing to start a new job with Frito-Lay the morning after the crash. Organizers wrote that Angeles was excited about the opportunity and hoped it would allow him to better support his father, Martin.

He attended Soquel High School, those that knew him said.

CHP Officer Israel Murillo said a 19-year-old Watsonville man was driving a white Infiniti westbound on East Lake Avenue east of Casserly Road when it collided with a 2026 Toyota Camry driven by Angeles, who was traveling east through the intersection. Authorities have not determined either vehicle’s speed.

The Camry came to rest beneath a billboard on the dirt shoulder after sustaining catastrophic damage. Two occupants of the Infiniti suffered major injuries. One was airlifted by CALSTAR from a landing zone at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, while the other was transported by ambulance to an out-of-county trauma center.

Fire crews spent nearly an hour cutting into the Infiniti to reach trapped occupants. One injured passenger appeared conscious and was able to answer questions as rescuers removed him from the heavily damaged vehicle.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the collision. CHP is examining whether alcohol or drugs played a role. The Infiniti driver was arrested, but authorities have not released his identity.

Debris from both vehicles littered the intersection, including bumpers, license plates, shattered glass and engine components. Rescuers removed the roofs of both vehicles to access those trapped inside.

East Lake Avenue (Highway 152) remained closed in both directions for several hours, forcing motorists bound for Gilroy and Morgan Hill to detour via Highway 129.

Cal Fire led the rescue effort with assistance from Watsonville Fire, while multiple CHP officers remained on scene during the investigation.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact CHP dispatch at 831.796.2160.