Tamsin McMahon

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board approved final layoffs equivalent to about 100 full-time positions Wednesday, including special education staff, mental health clinicians, healthcare assistants, teachers and counselors. Staff, parents and union leaders warned the cuts will worsen student support services, increase workloads and create safety risks on campuses.

Thursday was the deadline for candidates in the Santa Cruz mayoral and city council races, as well as the District 4 county supervisor and Superior Court judge seats, to file their final pre-election campaign finance disclosures before the June 2 primary.

What would happen if Santa Cruz County chefs went all-in on plant-based creativity? Writer Liza Monroy, who has been a vegan for almost eight years, got a tiny glimpse of that fantasy last month, when the Vegan Chef Challenge turned dining out into a monthlong celebration of plant-based food. Suddenly she discovered a bounty of choices, and restaurant outings felt less lonely. In faux-crab cakes and tofu bahn mi, she found community, connection and some unforgettable meals. Now she is asking a bigger question: Why shouldn’t every month taste and feel this good?

As the June 2 primary inches closer, voters might notice that some candidates on Santa Cruz County ballots have their affiliation listed as “no party preference.” For some, it’s because of their past professional experience, while for others, it’s to steer as clear as possible of party politics.

Homelessness nonprofit Housing Matters announced Friday that it will reduce capacity at the Rebele Family Shelter on Coral Street and its off-site recuperative care center at the former Salt Air Lodge on Leibrandt Avenue, as both are “operating with significant budgetary deficits.” CEO Phil Kramer said the move is likely to take place over the next month or so, but none of the current occupants will be forced out early.

The Santa Cruz County Parks department is proposing a pay-for-parking pilot program at high-traffic area parks.

Rose K. Murphy argues that Tom Steyer’s environmental and economic rhetoric clashes with the investment record of the hedge fund he built at Farallon Capital Management. From water rights fights in Colorado to private prisons and overseas fossil fuel projects, the Watsonville resident writes that Steyer has never fully answered for the profits tied to environmental damage and corporate exploitation.

State Sen. John Laird warns that Watsonville Community Hospital is once again facing a financial crisis, with fewer than 10 days of cash on hand. Recently passed emergency legislation will provide short-term relief to help the hospital stay afloat through July, he writes, but it is not a permanent solution. Laird argues that federal funding cuts have reversed years of financial progress and left community hospitals like Watsonville especially vulnerable. The hospital continues to seek a long-term partner to survive.

Forty years after “The Lost Boys” transformed Santa Cruz into the fictional vampire haven of Santa Carla, the cult classic still pulses through the town’s identity. Part 1 of a three-part series explores the film’s enduring lure, outsider mythology and the strange cultural magic of 1980s Santa Cruz.

El Hospital Comunitario de Watsonville recibirá una subvención estatal de 10,6 millones de dólares que le brindará un alivio financiero temporal. Watsonville es uno de los cuatro hospitales de California que recibirán fondos estatales adicionales.