8-8-22: The Jury’s In

California is the only state in the union with a constitution that requires counties to maintain civil grand juries. Unlike criminal grand juries, which are guided by prosecutors working for the district attorney, the civil grand jury’s job is to hold government itself accountable. Back in 2021, Jonathan Vankin looked at the civil grand jury tradition and its functions specifically in Santa Cruz County. 

Every year the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury releases a series of reports that throw light on the inner workings of local agencies. These reports provide a wealth of information for local journalists, who cover some of the grand jury’s findings. But curious citizens can go straight to the source and absorb all the data. On the home page for the 2021-2022 Grand Jury Reports and Responses, there are links to five grand jury reports, plus the 2021-2022 Consolidated Final Report, which can be downloaded as a PDF.

Three of the reports focus specifically on county government functions, aligning with the grand jury’s mission to ensure that public servants stay accountable to the public. “Honoring Commitments to the Public” reviews responses to three of the four 2018–2019 Grand Jury reports—including one that led to the replacement of an “unwieldy contract with private sector attorneys with a dedicated Public Defender.” (Read more in this article by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.)

Two reports delved into different local measures: Measure S, a special tax that funded the Live Oak Library Annex, and Measure G, a one-half cent sales tax increase on transactions in unincorporated areas for 12 years (the latter has the piquant title “Words Matter: Did Measure G Mislead Voters?”).

The other reports focus on two subjects that are front of mind for Santa Cruz residents (and for that matter, Californians in general): fire and water. We have too much of one, not enough of the other.

On the first of these, the grand jury released “Reducing Our Community’s Risk From Wildfire.” There will be more to come from local journalists on this topic, particularly in the weeks ahead when the annual CZU fire anniversary rolls around, and also when the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors responds to the grand jury’s report by Sept. 22.

But on the topic of water—and the shortages thereof—the grand jury released a report on May 24 titled “Our Water Account is Overdrawn,” which warns of a catastrophic outcome that if the county does not achieve drought resilience. The report proposes “achievable steps that can be taken toward drought resilience by our County water districts, city water departments, and groundwater basin agencies,” and it sets a deadline of Aug. 22 for “required responses” from the Santa Cruz and Watsonville city councils and the board of directors for the region’s water agencies.

This report on water management caught the attention of local reporters, with headlines cropping up in various news sites. A July 29 article by Jesse Kathan of Santa Cruz Local presents a comprehensive look at the report's findings, and also offers a map of local water districts, water sources and agencies. It’s a must-read for anyone seeking to understand Santa Cruz’s water management woes.

To augment this well-done piece of journalism, dip into California Local’s Explainers on the local water landscape (see below). Matt Renda writes about the peculiarities of Santa Cruz’s water supply. Due to its relative geographic isolation, hemmed in by ocean and mountains, it is one of the few California communities that relies on water from local rainfall. And Jonathan Vankin digs into a short primer on the state’s wildly complicated water delivery systems before detailing the 10 special districts whose primary function is managing and delivering water supply in Santa Cruz County, along with the municipal water departments in Santa Cruz and Watsonville.

Finally, the photo above of Santa Cruz’s Mystery Spot is not entirely apropos of nothing. It’s one of 10 different family-friendly tourist attractions featured in a new article on California Local—including one new park that offers something free to do in pricy San Francisco.