Santa Cruz County Business, Economy & Jobs Digest

The developer of a proposed mixed-use complex on West Cliff Drive and Bay Street announced they have ceased work on the project after years of planning, appeals to the California Coastal Commission and a neighborhood association lawsuit.

In his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create 500,000 new apprenticeships in the decade after taking office. So far, the state has registered more than 180,000 new apprenticeships. Many of them are firefighters.

After years of delay, a new California regulation to protect indoor workers from extreme heat is now in effect.

California Forever’s announcement July 22 that it has decided to pull a ballot measure that would have let voters decide on a controversial planned city in rural Solano County drew swift reaction from political leaders and opponents.

On July 22, California Forever announced it was withdrawing its initiative to amend the Solano County General Plan off the November ballot and would instead begin working with the county through the normal, though less expeditious, process.

Officials in The City and County of Santa Cruz and the City of Watsonville are exploring tax and other policy changes in how the cannabis industry is governed locally.

A judge has halted a union effort at the Wonderful Company, throwing into question a new state law designed to make it easier for agricultural workers to organize.

California courts have long upheld below-minimum wage pay for prison inmates working a wide range of jobs. A 2024 ballot measure that would ban forced labor could alter those decisions.

A mother picks up her son from daycare in Richmond on Sept. 26, 2022. Photo by Marissa Leshnov for CalMatters

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz won a prestigious award for their paper outlining new techniques to greatly reduce power consumption by AI models.

A program for low-income, first-generation STEM students at community colleges is receiving millions of dollars to expand across the state.

Private-sector jobs in California have declined since their post-pandemic peak, while public-sector employment has shown gains, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office says.

On June 19, California YIMBY announced support for the California Forever project going to the Solano County ballot in November.

The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau announced the 2024 Farmer of the Year is Janet Webb, president of Big Creek Lumber.

On June 11, Solano County elections officials announced the verification of necessary signatures for the California Forever sponsored initiative to amend the county General Plan to be on the November ballot.

A panel of labor experts at the CalMatters Ideas Festival say California workers should have more access to more apprenticeships that pay more. Barriers still exist, especially for women and low-income Californians.

Photos spotlight the beauty of the Big Sur community.

A new board game focused cafe will be opening on Cedar Street in downtown Santa Cruz.

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, flew more 6,000 miles to Rome this month to deliver a brief speech on climate change at a Vatican-sponsored conference.

In a decision released on May 23, a state labor board denied a request for an injunction against striking academic workers filed by the University of California.

Following a $10.6 million construction project to rebuild, the Capitola Wharf is set to reopen on August 14.

In its May 15 meeting, the City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission considered changes made to the five-story project and recommended approval by the City Council.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators spend the next few weeks fashioning a state budget that’s plagued by a multibillion-dollar deficit, they can’t count on a booming economy to make their task easier.

In its May 13 meeting, the Santa Cruz City Council voted 6-1 to approve a controversial medical marijuana dispensary on Mission and Laurel Streets.

Long a fixture in Davenport, a second location of the Whale City Bakery Bar & Grill is set to open in Aptos at 7941 Soquel Drive.

More than half of the U.S. House supports a bill to extend the funds, but it can’t get out of committee.

Because of damage to pilings sustained in a December storm, the Dolphin Restaurant is set to be taken down to effect repairs to the end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.

The management of the East Cliff Village Shopping Center negotiated a new one-year lease with the Live Oak farmers market, giving them more time to find a new location.

During the much-ballyhooed “California exodus” amid the pandemic, remote workers moved to other states where they could live for a fraction of the cost compared to cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco.

A bill to rein in a proposed monthly fee on California electric bills would let California’s largest for-profit utility companies charge customers $24 per month — with fees as low as $6 for lower-income customers — as a kind of membership fee for the power grid.

The City of Santa Cruz acquired the Toadal Fitness parcel downtown for $2.5 million as part of the mixed-use library project.

In its April 18 meeting, the City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission agreed to postpone a decision on rule changes to restaurant outdoor seating for 60 days.