Santa Cruz County Business, Economy & Jobs Digest

San Diego Unified School District has received more than $700 million in federal and state relief funds since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with these funds ending, some schools could be facing serious deficits.

Sean Loloee, a first-term Sacramento councilmember, has resigned from office—a move that came weeks after he was federally indicted on charges related to his business Viva Supermarkets.

High prices at hospitals in Monterey County are “an anomaly even among the most expensive” communities in California. One insurance plan there saves money by paying for members’ travel to other counties for procedures.

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing has been acquired by Adair Paterno of Sante Adairius Rustic Ales and Brad Clark of Private Press Brewing, which focuses on malt-forward and barrel-aged craft beer.

The dawn of 2024 meant that California’s minimum wage rose from $15.50 to $16 an hour. That puts the Golden State at the second-highest minimum wage for a U.S. state, trailing only Washington state at $16.28 an hour.

The pandemic threw a wrench in Katherine Stern’s plans, but on Dec. 29, the chef’s long-awaited first restaurant opened on Soquel Avenue, two doors down from the Rio Theater.

A 2021 law passed by the California legislature went into effect Jan. 1, requiring major retailers to maintain an aisle of toys marketed to people of either gender. The bill’s author, Evan Low, said the legislation will help kids “express themselves freely and without bias.”

On Dec. 28, coastal storm surges damaged waterfront restaurants in Capitola and Aptos. Less than a year ago, the same businesses required lengthy repairs after similar storms caused major destruction.

The Monterey Bay region, which includes Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, is undergoing a major demographic shift with a younger generation that is more diverse, according to Chris Benner, director of the Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz.

A feisty team of lawyers and tenants are fighting Alden Capital—the owners of two daily newspapers in the Monterey Bay region—and sometimes, they’re winning.

A new law, sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta, will create a fund designed to fully compensate victims of false advertising or unfair competition.

Just as you might intend to change your diet or workout plan, resolve to make changes that will allow you to meet financial goals.

A California icon dies, the A’s sign a deal to leave, and the drought is washed away.

Under two new laws, employers in California can’t ask workers about their use of cannabis outside the workplace and can’t use hair or urine tests. Employees in construction are excluded, as are applicants for federal jobs with background checks.

Under a new law, employees in California are guaranteed five paid sick days a year, two days more than previously. Worker advocacy groups say the benefit is needed, but business groups warn of additional costs.

In downtown Oakland, a new 19-story apartment tower with 236 units could be left sitting vacant because of a shortage of components required to connect the building to the electrical grid.

During the pandemic, Gary Butler and Denise Silva quietly opened a bookstore in Pleasure Point close to Capitola. Just two years later, Two Birds Books was named one of the country’s five best bookstores.

A tribe’s bid for federal recognition is getting a boost from a member of Congress who introduced legislation to extend acknowledgement status to the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation and create a reservation within Los Angeles County.

California's economy could use some holiday cheer. Here are 12 business needs for the coming year.

The Bay Area added thousands of jobs, an upswing fueled by a South Bay hiring boom that provided a respite from months of employment losses for the nine-county region.

The Dungeness crab season will open in the northernmost regions of California in early January. The season remains closed in the Monterey Bay region until at least Jan. 11 due to the continued presence of humpback whales.

Oakland entrepreneur Sanchali Pal’s new app, Commons, helps people track and reduce their carbon footprint by tracking how they spend money on food, utilities, clothes, furniture or travel.

The California Faculty Association has announced it will strike in January at the state’s 23 CSU campuses. It’s part of an ongoing effort by the group to obtain a 12% raise for the 29,000 professors and lecturers it represents.

California fast-food workers will earn a $20 minimum wage in April. Other employers might have to raise their pay floor to recruit and retain staff.

The financial blow from California’s out-migration has been cushioned by the kinds of people moving into the state: The newcomers generally earned more money than those who left. Now that long-standing trend has reversed.

Farmland is being rezoned for industrial use, and massive warehouses are being built on spec near communities like Buttonwillow and Shafter, so goods coming through the Southern California ports can be shipped quickly throughout the western United States.

Google has agreed to pay $700 million and will make changes to its app store it has resisted for years in order to resolve a lawsuit over whether its app store is an illegal monopoly.

Executives of the company that previously owned Watsonville Community Hospital are accused of improper payments, siphoning funds for personal use and negligent operations, among other things, in a lawsuit filed by the hospital's liquidation trustee.

Salmon populations in the Scott and Shasta rivers have crashed, so state officials are about to restrict irrigation again. And the controversial rules may even become permanent.

The number of nursing students enrolling in high-priced private programs has nearly doubled over the past 10 years as the state’s public universities have stagnated in growth. Private universities charge up to seven times the tuition of public schools for a bachelor’s degree, but nurses say their starting salaries are worth the cost.

The California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board is strengthening protections for stone cutters who have been breathing dangerous silica dust. At least 10 stone cutters have died in the past five years from silicosis.

California’s projected $68 billion deficit has led to a number of cost-saving measures. Among them, a popular program for state workers to cash in unused vacation time has been paused.