As was expected, Uber Technologies and Postmates Inc. filed a legal challenge against California’s AB5 “Gig Economy” law this past week in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, which is appealable to the Federal Ninth Circuit Court. AB5 was adopted by the State legislature this past year to codify the […]
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Get Schooled on School District Ballot Measures 2020
As we mentioned in our last newsletter we will be continuing our series on the upcoming March 2020 ballot measures. This week we will be discussing Measures M, S, T, U, and V. Measure M- Aromas-San Juan Unified School District (55% vote) reauthorize $4.2 million of Aromas-San Juan Unified School District’s bonds previously approved […]
To Beat A Dead Horse, or Camel? Whatever it’s about Housing Stupid
If you watched last week’s Santa Cruz City Council meeting you may have unknowingly seen a perfect example of everything that is wrong with housing politics in Santa Cruz. For just a brief moment, you saw elected leaders literally say one thing, and then in the exact same set of remarks, admit that it wouldn’t […]
A Student’s Perspective on the Chancellor
It’s always a special and nervous time when a new chancellor takes the reigns of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Cynthia K. Larive came to us from UC Riverside, which is not far from my hometown, and ever since she got here Santa Cruz has never felt more like home. I’ve been a […]
Getting Focused on Homelessness
At our last committee meeting in October, our staff presented on Focus Strategies which is a unique consultant group whose entire focus is on applying a systems approach to addressing homelessness. Their fundamental goal is to reduce homelessness to being “functionally zero” within communities. Focus Strategies has done an initial assessment in the City of […]
190 West Cliff: 5 Biggest Takeaways
Last week the Santa Cruz City Council took an important step in our community’s housing future by approving 190 West Cliff, a density bonus project that will provide 79 new condos, 10 deeply affordable units, and a local market–combined with public open space–on what used to be an inefficient surface lot. The Business Council has been working […]
The Gig is Up: California AB 5
Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California AB 5 into law. AB 5 is expected to have a large impact on California’s gig economy. Our staff took a look into the details of AB 5 including which practices are exempt from the law. You can check out our short one pager as well as our […]
Killing the Corridors Plan, or Did They?
It’s been about a month since the current Santa Cruz City Council decided to kill the famous Housing Corridors Plan, which would have allowed for taller, mixed use buildings along the four main transportation corridors throughout the City: Ocean, Water, Soquel, and Mission Street. This is basically urban planning 101: when you are constrained based upon available land, it’s both more efficient and […]