Lookout Santa Cruz

Contract negotiations in Pajaro Valley Unified School District have intensified as teachers push back against a district proposal to cap health insurance contributions. The district says the cap is needed to address rising health care costs, while teachers argue it could drive staff out of the district.

The post Pajaro Valley Unified officials, teachers face off over district proposal to cap health insurance contributions appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Downtown Santa Cruz’s comic hubs are rolling out the red carpet for Saturday’s national Free Comic Book Day, including an appearance by cartoonist Mike Kunkel of “Herobear and the Kid” fame at Atlantis Fantasyworld as it and Comicopolis celebrate the industry’s day in the sun.

The post It’s ‘nerd Christmas’ in May as Free Comic Book Day returns to Santa Cruz appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

To prevent a potential lawsuit, the Capitola City Council will convene a special session on Thursday night to discuss switching from at-large to district-based elections.

The post Capitola City Council to weigh switching to district-based elections to avoid litigation appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Joby’s electric air taxi takes Manhattan, a Monterey Bay nonprofit launches a forward-looking job training initiative and the end of the line for a Gateway Plaza coffee spot are all part of Jessica M. Pasko’s weekly look at local business.

The post This week in Santa Cruz County business: Joby’s big ride in NYC, training for emerging aviation careers, Java Junction shutters River Street café appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Micha Scott has been named the 2026 Santa Cruz County artist of the year by the county’s arts commission.

Scott is a professional dancer, choreographer and teacher who has performed on stages around the world as a 13-year member of Garth Fagan Dance.

The annual award is presented to local artists for outstanding achievement in the disciplines of performing, visual or literary arts who also have made a substantial contribution to the cultural enrichment of Santa Cruz County.

Since moving from New York to Santa Cruz in 2008, Scott has been involved in the local dance community, with particular focus on being an advocate for Black youth dance.

Since 2011, she has been the artistic director of the Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center (TWDCC). In 2021, she also became the executive director, using her roles to highlight the artistic traditions passed on to her by dance pioneer Garth Fagan.

In 2022, Scott started the annual Deep Roots Dance Fest, bringing artists of the African diaspora to perform original contemporary dances rooted in their traditional forms to Santa Cruz stages.

Scott served on the grants panels at Arts Council Santa Cruz County from 2021 to 2025, on the California Arts Council in 2023-24 and recently served as a guest panelist for The Great Cabrillo Arts Design Challenge at Cabrillo College. She has secured more than $120,000 in grants over the past four years to bolster TWDCC’s youth scholarship program.

For information on previous artist of the year winners, visit the Santa Cruz County Parks website.

A profile performance will be held at the Museum of Art & History on June 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, though seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis the night of the event.

Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.

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

Just a few months after California overhauled the way it teaches children to read, a new bill takes on math education — and may be just as controversial.

Senate Bill 1067 would require schools to screen all kindergartners, first- and second-graders for basic math skills, and give them extra help if they’re behind. The idea is to help those children catch up to their peers who might have had much more exposure to math before starting school.

“A student’s early math skills are the most powerful predictor of their later success in school,” said Amy Cooper, a senior advisor at EdVoice, an education nonprofit that’s cosponsoring the bill. “We’re not talking about tracking kids. There’s no labels. It’s just about getting support to students so that they can get up to grade level.” 

California students, in all grade levels, have long struggled in math. Last year, just 37% of students performed at grade level in math, with some groups of students faring far worse. Just 16% of Black 11th-graders, for example, met the state’s grade-level standard. Nationwide, California ranks 43rd in 4th grade math scores, behind Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and dozens of other states. 

One reason for the poor performance, experts say, is California’s uneven early education landscape. Until transitional kindergarten became available to all 4-year-olds last year, children showed up at kindergarten with a wide array of abilities and skills. Some had years of exposure to early math — either at preschool or at home — and could count, do basic arithmetic and even read a little. Others, especially low-income children, had no prior exposure to the ABCs and 123s, and lagged far behind. Even now, TK and kindergarten are optional, so some students start first grade with no previous math instruction at all.

‘Critical tipping point’

Some of those children catch up eventually, but many continue to fall further and further behind, research shows. And because math is sequential, catching up becomes harder over time, and the gap widens. Some researchers found that early math skills can even be a predictor of how well students do in high school and college.

It’s still too early to gauge the impact of transitional kindergarten on students’ long-term math performance, but so far there’s still a gap between children who’ve had exposure to math — either through preschool or at home — and those who haven’t. Low-income children are far less likely to get that early exposure, said Alice Klein, a developmental psychologist and research director at the education research firm WestEd.

“It is a critical tipping point,” Klein said. “Unless those students get intervention, the gap will widen. It’ll be harder for them to access higher-level math classes later on, and this will have implications for future job opportunities and the economic future of California. It’s a continual closing of opportunities.”

Transitional kindergarten teacher Rachelle Bacong leads students during a math lesson at Ira Harbison Elementary School in National City. Credit: Adriana Heldiz / CalMatters Transitional kindergarten teacher Rachelle Bacong leads students during a math lesson at Ira Harbison Elementary School in National City. Credit: Adriana Heldiz / CalMatters

Klein supports the math screening legislation because she said it’s an effective way to identify students who are struggling and provide them with support. At least 20 other states have math screenings and have seen positive results, she said.

“I’m so happy that California is considering passing this bill,” Klein said. “It’s a great start, and could be the next step” in improving math outcomes in California.

Numbers and objects

Districts would have their choice of several screening tests to choose from, each ranging from 10 to 20 minutes long and testing children’s knowledge of basic math concepts. For example, kindergartners might be asked to look at two groups of dots and decide which group has more. Or they’d be asked to identify certain numbers and show that they understand what the numbers mean — that “three” means three objects, for example. English learners would take the test in their native languages. 

The bill is authored by state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, a Democrat from San Diego, and last week passed unanimously in the Senate education committee. 

Its cosponsor, EdVoice, was behind the push for phonics-based literacy instruction in California public schools. That initiative passed, but only after a long fight with the California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union, and English learner advocates, who argued that it didn’t give teachers enough flexibility and that it wouldn’t be effective for students whose first language isn’t English. The final version of the bill doesn’t require schools to take advantage of state-funded teacher training, but it does require them to use phonics-based classroom materials. 

Too many tests?

There might be a fight over the proposed math testing as well. The California Teachers Association opposes it, as well as California County Superintendents, the Association of California School Administrators and the California Mathematics Council. 

They argue that the screening is unnecessary because the state already has a comprehensive new math framework and has made other big investments in early math. It’ll take time for those investments to show results. Also, the math framework emphasizes critical thinking and real-world math problems, and the screening might be too narrow and not take into account young children’s developmental differences.

They also argue that the testing will be pointless unless the state funds tutoring to help those students who are identified as needing extra help.

Transitional kindergarten students arrange number blocks during class at Ira Harbison Elementary School in National City. Credit: Adriana Heldiz / CalMatters

Nick Johnson, an associate professor of teacher education at San Diego State University, questioned whether schools need yet another standardized test. The federal education policy No Child Left Behind, adopted in the early 2000s, focused heavily on testing, and led to few improvements, he said.

“Since No Child Left Behind testing, we’ve assumed that (standardized testing) will improve student learning,” Johnson said. “But the evidence shows that’s rarely true. Is public education in a better place now than it was 25 years ago?”

Magic of math

Rachelle Bacong has been teaching kindergarten and TK for 30 years in National City, near San Diego. She weaves math into every activity the children do. When she sets up an art project, she asks them how many chairs are at the table and how many scissors they’ll need. When she makes smoothies with them, she asks them how much juice or how many chunks of bananas they should add. When the children wash their hands, she asks them how long they spent at the sink.

They also spend a good portion of their day playing with blocks, tiles and tubes, experimenting with shapes and dimensions. Bacon’s goal is to make math fun and easy to grasp, no matter where the child is developmentally.

“Math crosses all cultures, abilities and backgrounds. It’s accessible to everyone. It’s my job to design the learning environment to make it accessible to everyone,” Bacong said. “That’s what’s so magical about it.”

Transitional kindergarten teacher Rachelle Bacong insider her classroom at Ira Harbison Elementary School in National City. Credit: Adriana Heldiz / CalMatters

She also spends time every day explicitly teaching them math, although in a way that’s blended with play. She’ll teach them songs about numbers, show them how shapes fit together, and gently guide them when a solution might not be clear. Math instruction needs to come from several angles, she said, because children’s cognitive skills develop at such different rates.

She welcomes extra help for children who need it, but she’s skeptical that a test will reflect how individual children process math concepts. She already knows how her students are faring, and she fears that screening results will be used to stigmatize children, teachers or schools. 

“My fear is that it’ll focus on a child’s deficits,” Bacong said. “Math needs to be joyful, fun and developmentally appropriate. We want to set students up for success, so they’ll be prepared for whatever they’re going to be designing or building in the future.”

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Businesses operating in Santa Cruz County must register with the county clerk. Lookout Santa Cruz reviews the public filings from local businesses to report on new businesses starting in the area.

Here is what’s new in local business recently.

New businesses

• INERTIA COMPONENTS was registered at 1334 Brommer St., Suite B6, Santa Cruz, by Zana Fabrication LLC as a limited liability company on April 13.
• VITALITY MEDICINE was registered at 52 Tanglewood Trail, Santa Cruz, by Evelyn Skultety as an individual business on April 13.
• CHARLIS DELIVERY SERVICE was registered at 2 Loma Prieta Ave., Freedom, by Janet Munoz as an individual business on April 14.
• STALLED 2 SALES was registered at 17 Saint Francis Dr., Watsonville, by Pfv Media LLC as a limited liability company on April 14.
• WILLOWPOND WELLNESS PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES was registered at 6530 Highway 9, Felton, by Susan Jane Gulbe Walsh as an individual business on April 15.
• ED’S CONSTRUCTION SERVICES was registered at 55 Miller Rd., Royal Oaks, by Everardo Mendoza as an individual business on April 15.
• FRANKY FIREWOOD SALES was registered at 142 Hall Rd., Watsonville, by Daisy Silva-Saldana as an individual business on April 15.
• SANTA CRUZ TECH CO was registered at 228 Trescony St., Santa Cruz, by Nathan Margolis as an individual business on April 15.
• CreativeMornings Santa Cruz was registered at 165 Spaten Way, Santa Cruz, by Emily Rose Antflick as an individual business on April 16.
• BAYVIEW PET CARE PET SITTING AND DOG WALKING was registered at 250 Southwood Dr., Scotts Valley, by Jake Thull as an individual business on April 16.
• MICHELE CHILDS ENVIRONMENTAL was registered at 15065 Bear Creek Rd., Boulder Creek, by Michele Lyn Childs as an individual business on April 16.
• TOPSIDE SERVICES LLC was registered at 144 Bay St., Santa Cruz, by Topside Services LLC as a limited liability company on April 16.
• CLEANING SOLUTIONS MOPA was registered at 120 Raymond St., Santa Cruz, by Alfredo Moya Fonseca as a co-partnership on April 17.
• GARDENS OF EDEN was registered at 2071 Huntington Dr., Aptos, by Robert William Rule as an individual business on April 17.
• ADAMS SPEECH THERAPY was registered at 332 Linden St., Santa Cruz, by Laura Elliott Adams as an individual business on April 17.
• JULIO’S LANDSCAPING was registered at 1099 38th Ave., Spc #39, Santa Cruz, by Julio Hernandez Torres as an individual business on April 17.
• LOQUAT HEALTH was registered at 2955 Park Ave., Soquel, by Olivia W.r. Baker as an individual business on April 20.
• DEGRANDE MARKETPLACE was registered at 120 Gail Dr., Felton, by Donna Degrande as an individual business on April 20.
• CHRYSALIS BLOOM THERAPY was registered at 684 30th Ave., Santa Cruz, by Jessica Marie Ignacio as an individual business on April 20.
• LONE OAK REAL ESTATE was registered at 501 Soquel Ave., Suite J, Santa Cruz, by The Rezzato Group LLC as a limited liability company on April 21.
• J AND J DESIGN PRINTING was registered at 70 Mariposa Ave., Suite B, Watsonville, by Jesus Duarte Orozco as an individual business on April 21.
• RANCHO CERRITOS MHP was registered at 2121 Kralj Dr., Watsonville, by Jc Rancho LLC on April 21.
• WESTSIDE WINDOWS was registered at 10 Sunlit Lane, Santa Cruz, by Blue Echo, Inc. as a corporation on April 21.
• TRADER KIKI was registered at 16 Crescent Dr., Scotts Valley, by Kacey Lee Lewis as an individual business on April 21.
• CROSSFIT APTOS was registered at 7960 Soquel Dr., D1, Aptos, by Strong Ever After LLC as a limited liability company on April 22.
• LEM O’NADI was registered at 934 Lake Village Dr., Watsonville, by Nadia P. De La Torre as an individual business on April 22.
• 410 EXTRACTS was registered at 236 Encinal St., Santa Cruz, by SC Bloom Network Inc. as a corporation on April 22.
• SMALL TOWN COOKIE CO. was registered at 260 Villa Way, Boulder Creek, by Rebecca Wels as an individual business on April 22.
• THE CAN BUDDY was registered at 207 Spring St., Santa Cruz, by Matthew Peter Stelling as an individual business on April 22.
• HEALTHY ROOTS TREE CARE was registered at 2317 Vine Hill Rd., Santa Cruz, by Josias M. Harder as an individual business on April 22.
• WILLOW WORKS was registered at 5980 Highway 9, Felton, by Mariana Catarina Timmer as an individual business on April 22.
• OCEAN MAHJ was registered at 506 Hampstead Way, Santa Cruz, by Merilee Colle Ferdinand as an individual business on April 22.
• SANTA CRUZ PAINT CO. was registered at 3912 Portola Dr., S1, Santa Cruz, by Artt Paint Supplies LLC as a limited liability company on April 22.
• HARVEY WEST STUDIOS was registered at 119 Coral St., Santa Cruz, by 180 Supportive Housing, LLC as a limited liability company on April 22.
• JOHNNY’S ROAD DAWGS was registered at 1326 El Rancho Dr., Santa Cruz, by John Gambardella as an individual business on April 23.
• XDALLAS DESIGN was registered at 1646 Dolphin Dr., Aptos, by Dallas John Macdonald as an individual business on April 23.
• SWINGLINE TREE SERVICES was registered at 11560 Clear Creek Rd., Brookdale, by Feliciano, Jr., Gerard as an individual business on April 23.
• THE SAWMILL was registered at 15520 Highway 9, Boulder Creek, by Alex Lewis Consulting LLC as a limited liability company on April 23.
• SMARTWIRE was registered at 153 Marine Parade, Santa Cruz, by Robert Brian Hubbard as an individual business on April 24.
• METICULOUS MAID was registered at 14785 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, by Rachael A. Danckert as an individual business on April 24.
• Pantoja’s Junk Hauling & Removal was registered at 737 Glemar St., Watsonville, by Jesus E Pantoja Flores as an individual business on April 24.
• ROOTS BOUTIQUE SALON was registered at 2920 Park Ave., Suite C, Soquel, by Kelli Butcher as an individual business on April 24.
• Taproot Massage and Wellness was registered at 412 Cedar St., Suite A, Santa Cruz, by Julie Gallant as an individual business on April 24.
• KARINA GARCIA CPR TRAINING was registered at 582 Arlene Dr., Watsonville, by Karina Garcia as an individual business on April 24.
• MACKENZIE DONALDSON HAIR was registered at 2920 Park Ave., Suite C, Soquel, by Mackenzie Donaldson as an individual business on April 24.
• MID-COAST CHARTERS was registered at 111 Rogers Ave., Watsonville, by Kavi Treesong-engel as an individual business on April 24.
• On Point Wellness was registered at 879 41st Ave., Santa Cruz, by Jordan Michael Boerner as an individual business on April 25.
• FELTON DONUTS AND PASTRIES was registered at 6259 Graham Hill Rd., Felton, by Veasna Chuop as a business operated by a married couple on April 25.
• LAND AND LEAF ADVISORY, MOUNTAIN FLOWER FARMS, PURE AQUASCAPES was registered at 110 Brookwood Dr., Santa Cruz, by Sgid, Inc. as a corporation on April 25.

Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.

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The post Santa Cruz County business filings: Week of April 28 appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This post is updated throughout the day to reflect the latest incidents. It was last updated at 7:30 a.m..

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

▼︎ new incidents

Road incidents as of 7:30 a.m. on April 28

• A lane on westbound SR-152 at Clifford Drive/Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville and Pajaro is closed for asphalt paving. The closure will last until July 3 at 5:59 a.m.
   

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 Tuesday morning traffic: Westbound SR-152 lane closed for paving until July 3 appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz coffeehouses are expanding into full-service dining, adding chef-driven, all-day menus as high-quality coffee becomes standard and less of a differentiator. While some cafés embrace the shift to stand out and draw customers, others stick with simpler offerings, reflecting a split in how the industry is evolving.

The post In Santa Cruz, cafés evolve into all-day dining spots as coffee culture shifts appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz Shakespeare turns to the letters between Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo in “Vincent,” exploring the legendary artist’s life marked by passion, struggle and vision. It is an intimate, solo-actor production anchored by a commanding performance from Charles Pasternak, Jana Marcus writes in her latest theater review, asking us to reconsider not just the artist, but how we choose to see artists at all.

The post Two brothers, one actor: Charles Pasternak shines in Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s ‘Vincent’ appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Gen Z is facing a rise in colorectal cancer, yet many young people with symptoms delay screening out of fear or embarrassment. UC Santa Cruz literature and psychology student Kathleen Whilden wants to end the embarrassment and writes that yes, getting a colonoscopy is uncomfortable, but it’s far less frightening than a late diagnosis. She knows. She has had several colonoscopies and lived to tell about them – she even has some souvenirs. She pushes her peers to lose their fear of potty jokes and get tested.

The post Gen Z, don’t let it scare the crap out of you. Get a colonoscopy. appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

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

California is preparing to share with an outside organization detailed information about driver’s license-holders, including immigrants who do not have legal authorization to live in the U.S.

That breaks a promise the state made a decade ago when it began issuing licenses to unauthorized immigrants, advocates say, and it means more than 1 million people could face higher risk of deportation.

But if state officials don’t turn over the data, the Department of Homeland Security could refuse to accept California licenses and IDs at airports, the advocates believe, following a briefing with the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month. State authorities confirmed they plan to share the data to comply with the Real ID Act of 2005, which set requirements for accepting state identification in federal facilities like airports.

Representatives from four advocacy groups who participated in the briefing told CalMatters the shared information will show whether a person has a Social Security number, meaning it could be used to identify people in the country without authorization. 

The state plans to provide the information to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a nonprofit organization whose governing board is made up of DMV officials from across the country. 

The information given to the association will go into the group’s State-to-State Verification system and its platform, known as SPEXS, which allows DMVs and contractors that work with them to verify if someone has more than one license issued in their name. Sharing that data allows agencies that issue driver’s licenses to verify that a person doesn’t have duplicate licenses in multiple states.

In the future, an ID database like the one the association maintains could be used to support mobile licenses people can use on their iPhones or online age verification for access to mature content or chatbots.

But advocates fear that federal immigration officials will try to gain bulk access to the data and use the fact that a person doesn’t have a Social Security number as a signal that they’re deportable.

The state received assurances from the association that safeguards will be added to prevent bulk searches for unauthorized immigrant license holders in the database and to prevent access by the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to people who joined the briefing with the DMV and governor’s office. But they remain skeptical.

To carry out the plan to share data with the association the California Legislature will need to approve $55 million to cover the DMV’s costs. It might also need to amend existing law, which states that a Social Security number obtained by the DMV cannot be shared for any other purpose than to address unpaid taxes, parking tickets or child support. 

A spokesperson for the governor’s office declined to confirm details of the call or respond to specific concerns from advocates.

“California continues to lead in supporting immigrant families and protecting personal data from federal overreach,” the spokesperson, Diana Crofts-Pelayo, wrote in an email. “The state has taken the same approach to protect Californians’ data during the Real ID implementation, while maintaining Real ID compliance for the benefit of all Californians.”

Ian Grossman, the chief executive of the DMV administrator association, told CalMatters that participation in the verification system is voluntary and that only authorized state employees or contractors have access to the system, that bulk searches of the system are not currently allowed, and all searches must contain specific information about an individual like their name and date of birth.

Social Security number ‘99999’

For more than a decade, California and 18 other states invited undocumented people to obtain drivers licenses in order to support public safety and the economy. Economists say that such laws improve economic activity, drive billions of dollars in taxes into state coffers, and benefit public safety because people who lack federal authorization to be in the country can feel more comfortable reporting criminal activity.

More than 1 million people have obtained drivers licenses in California under Assembly Bill 60, a law passed in 2013. The law prohibits the state from using information obtained in the licensure process to consider an individual’s citizenship.

But the multistate verification system can reveal whether a person is an undocumented immigrant. According to an association manual obtained by CalMatters, the database will include the last five digits of a person’s Social Security number, and if that person has no Social Security number, the association allows states to use the placeholder “99999.”

Advocates fear that federal immigration officials could gain access to information in the database, including on undocumented Californians, by asking local officials to make requests on their behalf.

That sort of end run would not be without precedent. 

CalMatters reported on instances last year and this year where local law enforcement agencies broke state law and shared information gathered by automated license plate readers with ICE or Border Patrol agents.

The DMV and the governor’s office say the association will notify California of requests from any entity other than a participating state, including attempts to subpoena the database for information about California license holders, providing them with the opportunity to challenge subpoenas or intervene in other requests. But if a subpoena is accompanied by a gag order the association could not deliver any such notification. An agreement between the association and the California DMV obtained by CalMatters states that the association will inform California “if legally permitted” if it receives a subpoena “to release, disclose, discuss, or obtain access to S2S information.”

Hasbrouck believes the DMV and governor’s office “must have known” the reassurances they got from the association were “hollow given the possibility of gag orders.”

He also said that, as a private entity, the association has less protection from court orders or subpoenas than a government agency. Its data sharing is also more easily hidden, since the association is not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests or open meeting laws.

Advocates see ‘a direct betrayal’

Advocates who spoke with CalMatters said sharing the driver’s license information with the association sells out immigrant license holders. The law that created the program prohibits the state from using information the program gathers to determine citizenship. 

“It’s unclear how extreme the danger people are being put into by this decision but there ’s no doubt we told people with AB 60 licenses this would never happen, but it’s happening, and that’s a direct betrayal,” said Tracy Rosenberg, head of advocacy at Oakland Privacy, who was on the call.

Linda Nguy, an associate director at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, compared the disclosure to a move last summer by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to share data about millions of non-citizens with federal immigration agencies. That was a violation of federal law, department officials concluded, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press.

Pedro Rios, director of the U.S.-Mexico Border Program at the American Friends Service Committee, was not on the call, but echoed Rosenberg and Nguy, calling the data sharing plan “a betrayal of California’s commitment to protect and defend all its residents, especially those who have an AB 60 drivers license.”

Becca Cramer-Mowder, who was on the call representing the Electronic Frontier Foundation, questioned why the governor’s office and DMV are in a rush to comply with the Real ID Act two decades after it passed at a time of increased pressure from the Trump administration.

“It just seems like we’re missing the bigger picture of this moment in time,” she said

The plan to share license information with the database depends on the state budget process because the DMV is requesting $55 million to move the data over to the association’s systems.

At a state Senate budget hearing last month to approve the funding, lawmakers questioned why the state should follow a timeline set by a private organization and share part of Californians’ Social Security numbers. They also asked the DMV to explore the reasoning behind a lawsuit filed by Oklahoma lawmakers in January to block data sharing with the association, in which they argued that sharing personal data collected for driver’s licenses violates state law there. 

DMV director Steve Gordon told them that California unsuccessfully tried to convince the motor vehicle association to consider a unique identifier other than a Social Security number and “anybody who has a Social Security number that’s sharing information of course would have a concern” but told lawmakers “we need to go. We need to go now.”

DMV spokesperson Jaime Garza said that Californians can submit a request to surrender or cancel a driver’s license but that driving without a license is illegal.

Nick Miller, a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, told CalMatters that lawmakers continue to work on the policy issue. 

“Protecting immigrant communities from the Trump administration’s relentless attacks — and ensuring Californians are empowered and defended — continues to be a top priority for the Speaker,” he said in an email.

Rosenberg with Oakland Privacy suggested that the state might be better off opting out of the Real ID system than sharing information about its license holders, noting that more than 60% of Californians already have passports.

“I just wonder what would happen if the state asked Californians to get a passport in order to fly for a couple of years in order to protect 1 million Californians with AB 60 licenses. Maybe we should give people that opportunity.”

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Downtown Santa Cruz is hosting its annual Kids Day this Saturday, May 2, from noon to 4 p.m. on Cooper Street and on Pacific Avenue between Locust and Church streets. 

The streets will be transformed into a car-free zone filled with free hands-on activities and live entertainment for kids of all ages.

This is the first year that Kids Day is expanding onto Pacific Avenue, creating an additional indoor activity hub in the storefront that was once occupied by Palace Art & Office Supply.

Presented in partnership with Abbott Square and Growing Up In Santa Cruz, the event features activity booths hosted by local organizations, along with performances and demonstrations by Be Natural Music, All About Theatre, International Academy of Dance, Santa Cruz Museum of Discovery, Jewel Box Band and Kirby School.

Downtown businesses including Fusion Fare, Ibiza, Go Ask Alice, Lively Kids, Pacific Wave, The Salty Otter Sports Grill, Palmetto Superfoods, Botanic & Luxe, Mission Hill Coffee & Creamery, Stripe the Store, Artisans & agency, 3D Entrepreneurs Club, Woodstock’s Pizza, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Kianti’s Pizza & Pasta Bar, Comicopolis, Super Silver and Mythic Games. Many of the businesses are offering in-store specials for the event.

For more information, visit the Downtown Association website.

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

Picking the next insurance commissioner could be one of the most important decisions Californians make for their wallets this election year.

They may have seen a big increase in their insurance premiums in the past couple of years. They might know someone whose homeowners policy got canceled. Or perhaps they’re trying to rebuild after last year’s deadly Los Angeles County fires.

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

If you’re not sure what the insurance commissioner does, here’s a rundown: 

• Regulates the nation’s largest property and casualty insurance market, which includes policies for homeowners, businesses, landlords, renters and drivers. 
• Leads the Insurance Department, which reviews and approves premium rate increases. 
• Regulates life, health and workers’ compensation insurance. 

Whoever is elected to succeed Commissioner Ricardo Lara will have a long to-do list. For the past few years, insurance companies have paused writing homeowner policies or reduced their presence in California. That’s starting to change because of industry-friendly regulations Lara put in place, but premiums are still rising and the market cannot be described as healthy yet. 

The L.A.-area fires last year highlighted other problems, such as homeowners dealing with insurers delaying or denying claims, discovering they were underinsured, or finding out there are no standards for smoke-damage claims. Frustrated fire survivors called for Lara to step down.

In a recent poll commissioned by the Insurance Fairness Project, a national insurance information hub, 62% of likely voters said they are very concerned about the cost of home insurance and 43% said they are not confident at all that California’s insurance system can withstand future extreme weather disasters. 

Former insurance commissioner John Garamendi, who held the position two separate times and is now a U.S. congressmember, calls the commissioner job the second-hardest in the state behind the governor. Another former commissioner, Dave Jones, said the next commissioner needs to keep a closer eye on insurance companies and regularly examine their conduct, creating “clear enforcement triggers.” He worked on a blueprint with recommendations galore for Lara’s successor.

About a dozen candidates are officially vying for the position, though not all of them have active campaigns. The two who receive the most votes in June’s primary will move on to the November ballot.

CalMatters interviewed the five candidates who have raised the most money for their campaigns.

All of them are calling for more transparency and accountability from insurance companies within the law that governs insurance in the state, Proposition 103. They want to help reduce fire risk at the individual and community level. Most of them agree California should try to hold the fossil-fuel industry accountable for climate risks that are helping drive up insurance costs.

They want to reduce Californians’ dependence on the FAIR Plan, the insurer that’s mandated to sell fire insurance to those who can’t buy it from individual insurance companies. At the end of 2025, the plan had nearly 650,000 noncommercial dwelling policies, up from about 264,000 in 2022.

Here is how each candidate, in alphabetical order, plans to tackle the challenges.

Ben Allen State Sen. Ben Allen. Credit: California State Senate via CalMatters

Last year’s massive fires in the L.A. area hit the senator’s district. Along with other insurance-related bills, Allen has introduced legislation that would give the commissioner more power to hold insurance companies accountable. After hearing from his constituents about the department’s handling of their problems after the fires, he wants to boost the number of staff handling consumer complaints and create a consumer advocate position in the insurance department, he told CalMatters. 

Allen, a Democrat, would take a more comprehensive approach to risk reduction, including by creating funding sources such as state-backed loans for hardening homes, and by bringing together insurers, builders, local governments, firefighters and the state to work on solutions. As part of reducing risk, he wants to restrict new construction in high-risk zones, saying developers who are building in such areas are “basically freeloading off the rest of us.” He also wants to “carefully and sensitively” find a way to incentivize those already living in risky areas to move elsewhere.

The senator — a lawyer who will be termed out of the Legislature, where he has worked on environmental issues — said his eyes are wide open about how tough the job would be, but believes he has and can create the relationships needed, including with an incoming governor, to address the issues. On the role of intervenors, members of the public who can challenge insurers’ rate reviews, he indicated he needed to look into it further and that they shouldn’t be slowing down rate reviews — adopting a refrain by the current commissioner, who is seeking to reduce intervenors’ power. 

He has received the most endorsements from the who’s-who of state politics, including Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, both U.S. senators from California, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, and more than two dozen state lawmakers. Jones, the former commissioner, also endorsed him.

Steven Bradford Steven Bradford. Credit: California State Senate Archive via CalMatters

The former Southern California senator and assemblymember would establish a public-private partnership that would share risk with insurers to keep them in the state. What that would look like needs more exploration, Bradford told CalMatters. 

The Democrat, a former executive at the utility company Southern California Edison, would invite insurance companies “to the table” when discussing land use and planning, and support a voluntary buyout program to encourage people to move away from high-risk areas. 

He said funding could come from expanding an existing program in the insurance department called the California Organized Investment Network, which is backed by the insurance industry and invests in underserved communities, environmentally friendly and affordable housing projects, and more. Insurers’ investments in the program have grown from tens of millions of dollars to more than $1 billion in 2023, according to the commissioner’s annual report in 2024.

Bradford would push insurers for clear explanations when they raise rates, saying it won’t be easy but that because the state’s insurance market is so big, it “would behoove them to do what they can to be partners with California.”

He is endorsed by U.S. Reps. Adam Gray and Luz Rivas, state Treasurer Fiona Ma and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, plus Teamsters California, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California and other labor groups.

Merritt Farren Merritt Farren. Credit: Merritt Farren for California Insurance Commissioner 2026

The Pacific Palisades home of the former Amazon and Disney executive was destroyed in last year’s fires. He became an intervenor and pushed for more information on State Farm’s request to raise its rates as a result of the fires, which led to his campaign for commissioner.

Farren, a Republican, would create CAL Reinsure so the state could provide a backstop for insurers. The entity would be funded by a fee charged by insurers and would eliminate the need for the FAIR Plan because companies would be more inclined to write policies, he told CalMatters. The authority could issue bonds that could be sold in the commercial market, and would be backed by the state, like municipal bonds. 

He would want to “revamp” regulations that get in the way of allowing new insurance products in the market, saying that he wishes insurers had a premium product that charged customers more but would “pay out immediately on loss without putting them through the drama and trauma they have to go through today.”

Farren said he sees the commissioner’s job as one of consumer advocacy, and invoked his days at Amazon, where he says the motto was to be the most customer-centric company in the world. “You can be a consumer advocate and still appreciate the fact that there will be no insurance for consumers without insurance companies,” he said.

Jane Kim Jane Kim. Credit: Jane Kim for Insurance Commissioner

The lawyer, consumer advocate and former San Francisco supervisor told CalMatters that the commissioner’s office has been “under-leveraged” and has the levers to protect people from the powerful insurance industry. 

Kim, a Democrat and head of the California Working Families Party, has three main proposals around more government involvement, the main one to create “natural disaster insurance for all.” It would be funded by a portion of policyholder premiums that insurance companies would pass along to the state. The state would manage the fund, which would guarantee fire and flood coverage. Insurance companies would continue to provide coverage for other risks. It’s not her idea — New Zealand has the same system, and it allows the country to invest the premiums in preventive measures, she said. Establishing such a system in California could allow the state to invest profit from premiums that would have gone to insurers’ shareholders in its communities instead, she said.

She would establish a public option for auto insurance by expanding eligibility for an existing program that provides low-cost insurance to drivers who make less than $38,000 a year. 

Kim also wants to provide Medicare for kids. She believes California should centralize all insurance authority within the insurance department instead of having managed health care handled by the Managed Health Care Department.

She acknowledges that her biggest ideas are for the long term and will require her to win over naysayers. 

“I’ve heard it — ‘She doesn’t know anything,’ ” Kim said. “We’re all so tired of seeing candidates that don’t have political courage.”

Kim is endorsed by some big names, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — she was California political director for his presidential campaign in 2020 — Ro Khanna, the Silicon Valley congressmember, and unions such as SEIU California, the California Teachers Association and the UFCW Western States Council.

Patrick Wolff Patrick Wolff. Credit: Patrick Wolff for Insurance Commissioner

The financial analyst, a Democrat who lives in San Francisco and has never held public office, obtained an insurance license ahead of his run for commissioner. Wolff told CalMatters that he has invested his own money in his campaign — $600,000, according to campaign finance records — and simply wants to help fix the problems he sees in the insurance market. “It would be the honor of my lifetime if I can do this job and really do this job well,” he said.

Wolff would create a report card that would grade how insurers handle claims based on existing market conduct annual surveys of insurance companies, which is now anonymized but which he would push to be identifiable. He said that would let  the insurance department help customers decide which insurers to reward or punish for their behavior. 

He would consider allowing auto insurers to use telematics, which companies use in other states to track driver behavior for underwriting purposes. He said it could help for more accurate underwriting and possibly even lower auto insurance premiums, but acknowledged privacy concerns around the technology and said insurance companies should be prohibited from sharing or selling driver information. 

Wolff would roll out a dashboard that would disclose complaints about providers of life insurance. The insurance department is not making that data public, and he doesn’t see why not, he said.

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The post Who wants to be California’s insurance commissioner? Your guide to the candidates appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

In a letter to the editor, a Santa Cruz resident traces what she sees as Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s hawkish history and urges fellow voters not to reelect him.

The post Letter to the editor: Let’s not support war – say no to Panetta reelection appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

In a letter to the editor, a community member touts the record of Santa Cruz County Supervisor Felipe Hernandez.

The post Letter to the editor: Who really saved Watsonville Community Hospital? appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Criminal proceedings against Robert David Worel, the man charged in last month’s fatal stabbing at the clocktower plaza in downtown Santa Cruz, were suspended Monday after a judge ruled that Worel is mentally incompetent to stand trial.

The post Fatal clocktower stabbing case suspended as suspect is deemed mentally unfit to stand trial appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

A controversial proposal in California to temporarily increase taxes on billionaires has enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, a labor union backing the measure said Monday.

The proposal, backed by the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West, would impose a one-time, 5% tax on individuals whose net worth exceeds $1 billion and who were living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026. The goal is to generate $100 billion in revenue, which would largely be used to offset federal funding cuts to healthcare for low-income people.

“California’s health is at stake,” said Liz Perlman, executive director of a chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a major labor union. “Hospitals are closing and people will die. Why? So billionaires can get another tax cut that they don’t need.”

The California Secretary of State still has to verify the signatures and officially place the measure on the ballot. Backers say they collected more than 1.5 million signatures, well over the roughly 875,000 they needed.

If the measure goes before voters in November, it could prompt one of the costliest ballot fights ever and will draw national attention as a litmus test for voter attitudes on raising taxes on the rich. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has already traveled to California to campaign for the idea.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Silicon Valley tech moguls are adamantly opposed. They warn it will drive California’s wealthiest residents out of the state. Nearly half of California’s personal income tax revenue comes from the top 1% of earners. Some have already purchased properties out of state in case it passes.

“After playing with matches since October the SEIU has succeeded in lighting a ‘Tax the Rich’ wildfire by getting enough signatures,” said David Lesperance, a tax consultant who’s advised some of his wealthy clients who left California because of the proposal. “The many billionaire targets of their efforts have already responded by executing fire escape plans by relocating to other states.”

Brian Brokaw, a longtime Newsom adviser who is leading a political committee opposing the tax, said the measure was poorly constructed and would deal a huge blow to the state’s budget.

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“Enacting a so-called wealth tax in just one state wouldn’t target a small group — it would impact all 40 million Californians,” he said in a statement. “This proposal trades a short-term revenue bump for long-term losses.”

At least 25 billionaires listed among Forbes magazine’s 2025 rankings of the world’s 500 wealthiest people either lived in California or had some significant ties to the state, based on a review by The Associated Press. But determining whether they were full-time residents or just frequent visitors could turn into a matter of dispute, since many of them own property elsewhere.

The big tax and spending cuts law President Donald Trump signed last year will cut more than $1 trillion nationwide over a decade from Medicaid and federal food assistance.

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The post Billionaire tax proposal on track to qualify for California ballot, backers say appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

The Santa Cruz City Council will vote on whether to approve this year’s updates to the city’s active transportation plan, a guide for implementing projects, policies and initiatives that promote and improve walking, biking and mass transit.

The post Carmageddon: Santa Cruz City Council eyes updates to active transportation plan; Bike Santa Cruz County annual survey appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Watsonville Hospital, a critical community lifeline, is under increasing financial strain and is actively seeking a major health care partner to help it evolve into a stronger regional hub. As those pressures grow, Lookout’s editorial board sought to better understand how leadership is managing the hospital, but found a level of transparency that falls short of what the public deserves. We see no indication of wrongdoing, but with physician shortages, aging infrastructure and heavy reliance on Medi-Cal funding, the stakes are rising quickly. Saving the hospital will require not only financial investment, but also trust, accountability and greater openness.

The post A Lookout View: Watsonville Community Hospital is too important to fail — but it can’t survive without transparency appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.