Santa Cruz County Business, Economy & Jobs Digest

A public hearing will be held on May 13 at 7:00PM by the Santa Cruz City Council as it considers the plan to expand the downtown to the south of Laurel Street neighborhood.

Tech that helps businesses make decisions or target ads will be given freer rein following pressure from the governor.

As the Los Angeles fires raged in January, about 1,000 inmate firefighters labored on hand crews alongside professional firefighters battling the blazes.

The Santa Cruz Pacific Avenue store formerly occupied by New Leaf Community Markets will soon be occupied by an outlet for home decor and clothing retail chain Anthropologie.

A look at why some storefronts in downtown Santa Cruz remain empty for years.

Local agricultural giant Martinelli & Co. is voluntarily recalling more than 170,000 bottles of apple juice due to possible contamination.

With empty storefronts and a frenzy of building, Wallace Baine considers the future of downtown Santa Cruz.

Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz is one of several hospitals named by state health officials as charging excessive fees and may have price caps imposed as a result.

The California economy continues to grow, now ranking as the fourth-largest on the planet.

The downtown Santa Cruz Farmers Market will be moving to a new location at Cedar Street between Walnut and Church Street on May 21.

From higher costs to export worries, California’s agricultural and wine industries face many possible tariff effects. But some hope for opportunity.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the lawsuit Wednesday, saying the tariffs hurt “states, consumers and businesses.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee spiked a bill to let wildfire victims sue oil companies over climate change. Labor unions, not Big Oil, led the opposition.

After a three day hearing this week, State Farm is one step closer to approval for a rate hike on its California customers.

California Democrats are backing a legislative proposal that would allow gig workers to form unions. Expect big pushback from companies like Uber, Lyft and Doordash.

The stock market selloff that followed President Trump’s latest tariff announcement underscored the “unprecedented” risk that California pension funds see in a potential trade war.

It’s hard to find the disciplinary history of for-profit colleges regulated by California. CalMatters is making it easier.

Rural counties are some of the most reliant on federal funding and federal workers. But some still welcome Trump’s upcoming cuts to forestry and other departments

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has regularly worked side jobs at Bay Area nonprofits to earn extra income because he says the state pay is insufficient.

Facing budget shortfalls, layoff notices to dozens of teachers have been going out over the last two weeks.

Thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers seek back pay, damages in wage claims they filed with California before industry-backed gig worker law took effect.

In their March 25 meeting, Santa Cruz County Supervisors were surprised to see a turnout of dozens of local veterans attending to support recently terminated Veterans Services Officer Xavier Bianchi.

A report of the March 25 meeting of the Santa Cruz City Council, where a new infrastructure finance district, new library and new farmers market were among the items under consideration.

A one-day strike has been called for April 1 by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union and the University Professional and Technical Employees representing service workers at UC Santa Cruz.

As businesses like SpaceX and Amazon seek to undo the National Labor Relations Board, California unions are trying a novel tactic to preserve labor organizing rights.

When Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara testified about California’s property insurance market before the Assembly’s insurance committee this week, he mentioned a recent trip to Bermuda — somewhat defensively.

In a March 21 statement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta reminded customers of struggling genetic testing corporation 23andMe of their right to demand the company delete their data to prevent it being sold.

The impact of cannabis lounges and an update on the housing element of the General Plan were on the agenda of the March 19 meeting of the Scotts Valley City Council. Read on to learn more

The permit lays the groundwork toward a driverless taxi service. Tesla has said it will launch such a service in Austin, Texas in June.

Billions of state and federal dollars are spent on Lake Tahoe. But is all this attention actually protecting this unique treasure? Pollutants pour in, while development continues. Funding has shifted in focus to tourism and traffic projects, while money spent directly on fixing the lake has declined.

AI can help businesses charge you more based on how it evaluates your personal history and desires. California lawmakers want to end that price discrimination.

California Assembly Bill 247 would significantly raise the hourly wage of inmate firefighters. Read on to learn more.