Lookout Santa Cruz

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for its newsletters.

Across California, every incarcerated individual taking a college course now has a tool those of us on the outside take for granted: a laptop. 

In the past three years, the prison system spent $23.2 million to distribute 30,000 laptops to all incarcerated students. Almost half of those went to the 13,000 inmates enrolled in community college, who are increasingly doing their coursework online. 

The growth of online learning marks a shift away from correspondence courses, where inmates receive assignments in physical packets, fill them out and mail them back to colleges, with limited feedback. While some community colleges still offer those types of courses, the laptops are starting to replace the packets.

Meanwhile, students and faculty alike debate whether online courses are as effective as in-person courses. Some teachers say online options reduce disruptions when students have to miss class due to court hearings or prison lockdowns. Some students say they prefer in-person courses because they can build invaluable connections. In either mode of learning, inmates say using laptops helps them prepare for life on the outside.

“The more we understand about today’s world, the better we’ll be equipped to get out into the workforce as things continue to change,” incarcerated student Richard Moye said in an interview. “We don’t want to get left behind. … Tech literacy is of the utmost importance behind prison walls.”

Online courses could increase enrollment 

In 2024, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended improving the California Community Colleges’ prison education program, called Rising Scholars. The Legislature’s spending and policy adviser recommended addressing limited classroom space by offering more online courses. The office also suggested Rising Scholars prioritize enrollment for students still pursuing their first degrees, to allow for greater student access. 

Today, 104 of the 116 community colleges in the state partner with prisons to provide courses and degree programs. According to data tracked by the community colleges, over 21,000 courses took place in prisons during fall 2025. Twenty colleges offer courses in person, with a faculty member commuting to the prison to teach the course. The rest teach courses either online or, with diminishing frequency, via mail correspondence, according to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

The true number of online versus mail correspondence courses taken by incarcerated community college students is unknown. While community colleges have the option to track courses using the data labels “correspondence” or “text one-way,” there is no consistency as far as which ones they use, according to the Chancellor’s Office. 

In-person classes can be difficult to get into because of enrollment caps and limited classroom space. The average in-person course generally ranges from 18 to 40 students. Many colleges enroll students on a first-come, first-served basis, enabling people on their second or third degree to “crowd out” those on their first degree, according to Orlando Sanchez Zavala, a policy analyst for the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

The Project Rebound study room at Cal State Northridge. Credit: ules Hotz for CalMatters

Sanchez Zavala said prioritizing enrollment for people pursuing their first degree would have the most impact on lowering recidivism rates. 

Leaving prison with a degree can make parolees eligible for a wider range of jobs, and more prepared to enter the workforce, reducing their likelihood of reoffending. According to the prison system’s recidivism report, during the 2018-19 fiscal year, those who earned an associate’s degree while incarcerated had a 8.5% conviction rate in the three years after getting out, compared to a 41.9% conviction rate for all individuals released that same year.

Sanchez Zavala also suggested utilizing correspondence and online classes to open more courses with lower enrollment caps, allowing more incarcerated people to access community college.

Incarcerated students face multiple barriers

For in-person courses, a major challenge is finding classroom space in prisons. Though prisons have classrooms, they are also used for other programming and group meetings. Sometimes, classes take place in gyms or dining areas. 

Joseph Bruno Martinez, 40, said he struggled to get into classes when he was incarcerated at high-security facilities, where institution-wide lockdowns sometimes interrupted learning. 

Formerly incarcerated student Garret Eiferman, 56, said he found that prison correctional officers were not always amenable to helping incarcerated students complete degrees. He had to build relationships with officers so he could use the classrooms past 7 p.m., and, at times, even convince officers to allow his classmates to leave their buildings to attend class.

Graduate student Garret Eiferman on campus at Cal State Northridge. Credit: Jules Hotz for CalMatters

He cited other obstacles to his instruction as well, including out-of-date textbooks with the hard covers ripped off for safety reasons, little to no feedback on his correspondence coursework, and challenges balancing work and other prison programs with classes. 

Though he didn’t take any online-only courses when he was in prison, Eiferman said he can see the benefits for students as they grapple with the obstacles he went through trying to take in-person courses. 

Online courses improve tech literacy 

The new laptops offer much to the inmates: education, enrichment, and — for those who will go free one day — future employment.

For Moye, online education is important for technology literacy. Moye, 44, has been incarcerated for 16 years and takes courses online and in person through Solano Community College at California Medical Facility in Vacaville. 

Moye said a lack of emphasis on tech literacy in prisons is a “disservice to this community” as jobs on the outside require applicants to be skilled at using computers and other tech. Online learning is closing this gap for incarcerated people. 

Students and teachers told CalMatters they now complete much of their coursework and grading through the online learning site Canvas, which is used across the state’s higher education systems for assigning and submitting work, as well as messaging between students and instructors. 

Isela Ocegueda is the vice president of instruction at Coastline College and teaches an online English course to incarcerated students. She says using Canvas streamlines an incarcerated student’s transition from school on the inside to school on the outside. At her college, 80% of instruction is online.

Until 2023, Coastline College provided courses in prisons through mail-in correspondence. The college calls its new online format “Canvas-supported correspondence.” 

Ocegueda says the online format allows instructors to offer more creative assignments and thorough feedback. Her first assignment to her English class last semester was a journal entry, in which she asked students to introduce themselves and tell her how she can help them throughout the class. 

The class final is a research paper, on which Ocegueda can give instant feedback and edits to students who can turn in multiple drafts, which was nearly impossible through snail-mail correspondence.

“Imagine just trying to receive essays in the mail and then make your corrections and then send them back,” Ocegueda said. “That was really hard to do in the mail version of correspondence. … Canvas-supported correspondence allows more for that writing process to actually happen.”

Obstacles to online instruction

While major improvements to Wi-Fi connectivity and research materials for inmate coursework have been made, there are still obstacles. Wi-Fi access varies from prison to prison, and it can often take up to a week for students to get reading materials approved by prison librarians for them to access.

Students at Pelican Bay State Prison in Del Norte County and California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County say they can’t access Canvas in their cells due to a lack of Wi-Fi, while students at Folsom State Prison and San Quentin Rehabilitation Center say they are able to complete coursework from their cells, where the Wi-Fi is strong. According to a state prison system spokesperson, inmates have Wi-Fi access in the housing units at all but four state prisons. All prisons have Wi-Fi in education areas and classrooms, though signal strength may vary, according to the spokesperson.

Some students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in prisons reported to CalMatters last year ongoing challenges with Wi-Fi and limited access to research materials, with some wishing they could do a simple Google search for information.

Solano College English professor Ben Brookeshire’s main teaching challenge is delay in students accessing what he calls the “information space.” Some documents his students might need to explore on digital research libraries require approval from prison librarians. 

In-person courses boost engagement

Eiferman, now a Cal State Northridge graduate student, did most of his in-prison coursework via correspondence courses from Palo Verde and Coastline colleges from 2009 to 2019. Eiferman holds an associate in arts, an associate in science and a business certificate from his time incarcerated. He was also pursuing a U.S. history degree when he paroled in 2020. 

“​​The bulk of my interaction with professors during the degree completion was very minimal. It’s distance learning, so that means it’s all done with an envelope and a stamp, and feedback was never a thing,” Eiferman said. “It was extremely challenging to transfer out here to the university, thinking that I knew stuff that I didn’t or stuff that I knew that needed to be retaught and relearned correctly.”

Garret Eiferman, a graduate student, uses one of the computers inside the Project Rebound study room at Cal State Northridge. Credit: Jules Hotz for CalMatters

Eiferman took his first in-person course through Bakersfield College at Golden State Community Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in the southern San Joaquin Valley. It was a math class, a subject he had always struggled with, but Eiferman said he had “aha moments” and was even able to help teach his fellow students. He said he took people “under his wings” to conduct “spirit building” and encourage them to stay in class.

Moye said in-person classes allow students to more clearly understand teachers’ expectations. They also offer group interaction, peer support, tutoring and collaboration on class assignments.  

Data tracked by the community college system indicates a 77% success rate for internet-based and correspondence instruction, and an 85% success rate for in-person instruction, for incarcerated students in spring 2025. “Success” means the student earned a C or higher, or a “pass” in non-letter graded courses. Incarcerated students have a success rate 10% higher than community college students overall in in-person courses.

“I’m a fan of in-person learning,” Moye said. “That’s my favorite style of learning, because to me, it resembles most what’s going on in society. If we’re trying to prepare incarcerated men and women for society, we have to have it look as much like society as possible.”

Brookeshire said he has seen his peers debate the merits of online versus in-person courses in the prisons. He said he knows online courses are inevitable, but he strictly teaches in person because it’s the best way for him to connect with students. 

“I’m very passionate,” Brookshire said. “I really believe there’s magic in a classroom, and I really believe that face-to-face instruction is irreplaceable.”  

Joe Garcia contributed to this story.

Ella Carter-Klauschie is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

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The post California gave every student in prison a laptop. How community colleges are using them appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

As another school year comes to a close, we’re reflecting on the students, educators and community partners who helped make this our most impactful year yet.

2025-26 impact snapshot

10,000-plus students reached through Lookout in the Classroom.

450 educators engaged across Santa Cruz County through Lookout for Teachers.

130 student submissions to our Student Journalism Scholarship, our largest cohort to date.

Dozens of classroom visits, workshops and student engagement opportunities throughout the county.

National recognition from the American Press Institute for innovative youth engagement and media literacy work.

Student voices elevated through classroom projects, scholarship stories and published Student Stories.

Expansion beyond Santa Cruz County as Lookout in the Classroom launched in Eugene-Springfield, Oregon.

Five years ago, Lookout set out to strengthen local journalism in Santa Cruz County, and one main focus has always been helping young people engage with trusted local news and better understand the communities they call home.

This past year, Lookout in the Classroom and our new Lookout for Teachers initiative continued to grow, creating opportunities for students and educators to engage with local journalism as a tool for civic participation, media literacy and community connection.

Expanding access to local journalism

One of the year’s biggest milestones was the launch of Lookout for Teachers.

Thanks to the generosity of donors, sponsors and community supporters, hundreds of middle and high school educators now receive free access to Lookout’s journalism, along with classroom-ready resources designed to help students connect local news with their learning.

The program reflects a simple belief: Every student deserves access to trusted information about the community in which they live – and teachers are the key.

Critical to the success – and growth – of our student and school programs is your support. All Lookout memberships help, but our new One-for-One Membership supports them best. Each membership purchase gives one membership to a local teacher! Sign up for one today, or upgrade to it, and you’ll be supporting this great work in the high schools and middle schools across Santa Cruz County.

Support free teacher access with your Lookout membership

You can help Lookout expand local news access for educators by joining or upgrading your membership. For every member who joins at the One-for-One level, Lookout is able to offer free access to an additional local teacher — including when members upgrade their existing membership!

Give a teacher free local news access Student voices at the center

A cornerstone of our work is ensuring students don’t simply consume journalism – they help create it. This year, students reported stories, interviewed local leaders, explored community issues and shared their perspectives through a variety of programs.

Our annual Student Journalism Scholarship saw record participation, with more than 130 students submitting profiles of local unsung heroes. Their reporting celebrated the people who strengthen Santa Cruz County every day while helping students develop skills in interviewing, research, writing and storytelling.

From personal reflections and community reporting to opinion pieces and feature stories, Student Stories provides a space where young people can contribute to local conversations and see their work published for a wider audience. 

The resulting stories offered powerful reminders that young people have important perspectives to contribute to community conversations.

Journalism in action across Santa Cruz County

Throughout the school year, Lookout partnered with educators and schools across the county to bring journalism directly into classrooms.

• Students at Watsonville’s Diamond Technology Institute continued the program’s founding tradition by engaging in hands-on journalism experiences and community storytelling.
• Student journalists at Soquel High School demonstrated the power of youth reporting through thoughtful, community-centered work. 
• At Santa Cruz’s Mission Hill Middle School, students combined climate science and storytelling to better understand environmental challenges affecting their region.

These partnerships illustrate how local journalism can become a bridge between classroom learning and civic engagement.

National recognition for local impact

This spring, Lookout in the Classroom earned national recognition from the American Press Institute, which highlighted our work as a model for connecting local journalism, education and civic engagement. 

While the recognition was meaningful, it also served as a reminder that the program’s success belongs to our community. Teachers, students, families, donors, members and partners have all played a role in building something that extends far beyond a traditional classroom program.

Together, they have helped create opportunities for young people to become informed, engaged participants in local democracy.

Investing in the next generation

This year also brought the opportunity to work alongside an exceptional group of student interns.

Our interns contributed to classroom engagement efforts, educator outreach, content creation, research and storytelling projects throughout the year. Their curiosity, creativity and dedication strengthened our programs and enriched our newsroom.

As they conclude their internships, we invite you to read their reflections on what they learned about journalism, community engagement and the role local news can play in strengthening communities. Their experiences are a powerful reminder that investing in young people today helps shape the journalists, educators and civic leaders of tomorrow.

Looking ahead

As Lookout continues to celebrate its fifth anniversary, we’re reminded that none of this work happens alone. Every classroom visit, scholarship submission, student story and educator membership is made possible through a community that believes local journalism has a place in education.

As we prepare for the 2026-27 school year, our goals remain ambitious: reach more students, support more educators, publish more student voices and continue building meaningful connections between journalism and learning.

Thank you to every teacher, student, member, donor, sponsor and community partner who helped make this work possible.

Together, we’re not just building stronger journalism. We’re helping cultivate the next generation of informed, engaged community members.

Help us keep growing

If you believe local journalism belongs in classrooms, consider supporting Lookout’s mission. Every membership, donation and partnership helps expand opportunities for students and educators throughout our community.

The post Lookout in the Classroom 2025-26: A year of growth, student voices and connection appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

I didn’t know quite what to expect when I started the school year as Lookout’s Educational Programs Assistant, but I was excited to challenge myself and learn more about the Santa Cruz County community I became a part of a year before, when I started my college journey at UC Santa Cruz. Nine months later, I can recognize what a valuable learning experience this internship has been. 

For one, I’ve been able to transfer skills I’ve gained in my academics into a new context and put them to use in a different way. As a literature major, I’ve practiced close reading and careful textual analysis to extrapolate a deeper meaning in my classes, a skill that has helped me when writing weekly educator newsletters for Lookout, in which I must understand and expand on the significance of recent Lookout articles in order to pose discussion questions that teachers are invited to use in their classrooms. 

I’ve also been able to expand my ability to structure ideas effectively in text. I’ve grown used to using this skill for formal academic essays, but at Lookout, I’ve been able to practice this in a variety of forms of writing – writing educator newsletters, Inside Lookout reflections about Lookout’s educational initiatives and while conducting outreach. At Lookout, I especially have to consider my changing audience, and let that influence how my tone and how I structure my writing – for example, experimenting with spacing and visuals more than I have in my academic work in order to be attention-grabbing and engaging. 

Besides developing tangible skills, this internship has shown me that learning is achieved in more places than just the classic classroom or a lecture hall. Learning can be through community events (such as Lookout’s election forums), through classroom workshops, through internship or work experience, and through challenging yourself to discover what’s possible.

YFIOB Luncheon 2026

With this year’s Student Journalism Scholarship, students learned what they were capable of, dove deeper into the inspiring stories they’d heard from their community heroes and used their voice to share the stories of these local heroes with the rest of us.

I am proud to have been a part of this project by spreading awareness of it to local educators, reading and evaluating the 130 submissions Lookout received (a new record!), helping to coordinate the winning stories’ publication, and meeting the wonderful winners themselves at this year’s Your Future Is Our Business annual luncheon.  I encourage you to learn about the community through these students’ eyes by checking out their “unsung hero” profiles, as well as the rest of the student-authored stories from this school year. 

I joined a handful of Lookout’s 20 classroom workshops this school year, which covered a variety of topics, from career panels to the importance of journalism in democracy. Lookout also had its first visit to a middle school classroom, where we talked to a seventh grade science class about the importance not just of science, but also of how to communicate scientific topics. 

Exercising my communicative skills, I got to take the lead for parts of the presentation and practice holding the attention of a middle school classroom. Having stickers to hand out to participants definitely helped, but so did paying attention to how my phrasing was landing and making adjustments for the next class.  

Because climate change can be hard to talk about, even for adults, we helped students identify effective science storytelling and journalistic practices – information gathering, interview techniques, the value of talking to people affected, how to decide what to include and how to consider one’s audience. 

It was a real treat to be invited back to see these students put these fundamentals to work at their Climate Change Symposium, where I saw how each student used their own unique creativity to make the project their own, be it an interactive game, sculpture, comic book, news anchor-style video or something else. To me, this is what learning is all about – curiosity and engagement, no matter where that learning takes place or in what form. 

Reading over student reflections after all of these classroom visits, it became clear that the visits not only helped students understand effective storytelling, but also helped them walk away from these workshops feeling empowered to engage more with their local community and keep themselves informed about local issues.  

These reflections were motivating to read, and I too look forward to continuing to engage with Santa Cruz County and learning more about this special place. Though I’ll be home in the East Bay for the summer working as a writing tutor, I’ll return to Lookout Santa Cruz next school year as a Lead Educational Programs Fellow.

Ava Salinas is a student at UC Santa Cruz and an intern at Lookout Santa Cruz through the Humanities EXCEL program led by the UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division with strategic support from The Humanities Institute.

The post Learning beyond the classroom; reflections on the school year appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

In a letter to the editor, a Pleasure Point resident outlines the importance of Capitola Boat & Bait to the village’s tourism and business.

As this school year and my internship at Lookout Santa Cruz comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the incredible journey it has been. Working as a Community Engagement Intern, I have been able to expand my sense of community within Santa Cruz, gain real-life experience in an office setting and more. I am so grateful for all of my time, connections and opportunities that I have been given at Lookout and will take what I have learned with me into future jobs and work experiences. 

When I first began at Lookout Santa Cruz, I hadn’t had much work experience in an office setting, having spent past internships doing remote work or in other sorts of spaces. Because of this, I entered Lookout a bit anxious about communicating with co-workers and advocating for help when I was confused on assignments. As I progressed in my internship and collaborated more with my co-workers, I grew more confident in my own abilities and learned how to ask for clarification when I needed it.

At Lookout, I had the chance to participate in projects and to help organize events it facilitated throughout the year. I joined Lookout in its fifth year as a Santa Cruz County news site, and therefore many of my projects centered around highlighting the work that Lookout has done for the community over the years. In the fall quarter, at the start of my internship, I created a five-year timeline of Lookout’s history. As a history major, I enjoyed getting to comb through the different projects and stories that Lookout has published. This project allowed me to learn about Santa Cruz County and situate myself in a place that I was still growing familiar with as a sophomore in college. I compiled the timeline into posters and was given the opportunity to write an article about my experience creating the timeline: Telling Lookout Santa Cruz’s story — and finding my own place in it. At the end of the project, I displayed my timeline posters in Lookout’s newsroom, leaving my mark on the office space. 

In the winter quarter, I worked on the HERStory project, collaborating with the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History to create visuals for its annual event honoring the women changemakers of Santa Cruz. For each woman who was nominated, representing the past, present and future of Santa Cruz, I made a poster including descriptions of each awardee and their achievements. I was inspired by the work that these women were doing across the county and feel extremely proud and grateful to have been a part of this celebration and honoring of these women. Attending the event at the MAH, which was full of community pride and happiness, and seeing my work displayed was an amazing experience.

Wrapping up my internship in the spring quarter, I focused on creating election materials, infographics and images for candidate forums hosted by Lookout. I especially enjoyed getting information translated into Spanish, using my bilingual skills to create material for the first Watsonville election event hosted by Lookout. Throughout this process, I was able to better get to know Santa Cruz County’s political climate. I also crafted an impact report to showcase Lookout’s work and hopes for its future. Getting to conclude my internship with this work was very rewarding and motivating. 

My time at Lookout Santa Cruz was special and allowed me to work on multiple projects. I gained many skills that I will take with me into future employment as well as a strong sense of pride in my new home and community connection. 

Galicia Stack Lozano is a student at UC Santa Cruz and an intern at Lookout Santa Cruz through the Humanities EXCEL program led by the UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division with strategic support from The Humanities Institute

The post Building connections through community journalism appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

“What do we want? Democracy! When do we want it? Now!”

This was one of the first slogans I heard approaching the No Kings protest, the first event that my editor at Lookout Santa Cruz tasked me with covering. I could feel my heart pounding its way out of my chest. I had been interning here for a month and half; I thought, they must really trust me to let me cover something this big. I’ll never forget this moment  – it was the first time I got to practice interviewing local residents, and I even got to speak to the event coordinator. 

No Kings 3

A month later, I got the opportunity to write a piece about the delay of CalFresh benefits for the month of November, and how that has affected UC Santa Cruz students who rely on them. Through this experience, I had the opportunity to practice the art of interviewing people, which provided me with insight into what matters most to Santa Cruzans. Some of the most notable people I got the chance to interview were Mayor Fred Keeley and Rep. Jimmy Panetta. 

On top of doing editorial work, I also got the opportunity to help out with our community outreach. I helped out at one of Lookout’s 2026 election forums, where candidates running for mayor and city council spoke about some of Santa Cruz’s most pressing issues. 

I really leveraged my communication skills in this role. Studying the humanities has helped me learn to share information clearly and thoughtfully, in an understandable, unbiased way. That skill became especially important when interviewing sources, writing stories and making complex local issues accessible to readers.

This summer, I will be attending the UC Center Sacramento program, where I will intern for a local organization such as Capitol Weekly or the governor’s office. 

If you want to support work like this, one simple but meaningful action is to subscribe to local news outlets and stay engaged by reading local journalism. And if you’re a student at UCSC, you can get a subscription to Lookout Santa Cruz for free, so I encourage you to take advantage of this resource.

Ashley Palma-Jimenez Intern

Ashley Palma-Jimenez is a student at UC Santa Cruz and an intern at Lookout Santa Cruz through the Humanities EXCEL program led by the UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division with strategic support from The Humanities Institute.

The post Covering Santa Cruz: An intern’s introduction to local journalism appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

This post is updated throughout the day to reflect the latest incidents. It was last updated at 6:31 a.m..

Here’s what’s happening on the roads this morning…

▼︎ new incidents   ▼︎ long-term incidents

Road incidents as of 6:30 a.m. on June 22

• Highway 9 at Cascade Avenue in San Lorenzo Valley has one-way traffic due to ongoing work. This closure will last until August 31.
   
• There will be alternating lane closures on Highway 9 at Pool Drive in San Lorenzo Valley because of bridge work. This will continue until April 30 at 6:59 a.m.
   
• A lane on westbound SR-152 at Clifford Drive/Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville/Pajaro is closed for asphalt paving. The closure will last until 5:59 a.m. on July 3.
   
• North Highway 17 at Pasatiempo in Eastside / Live Oak is facing closures for asphalt paving. The closure is expected to end at 6:01 a.m. today.
   
• CHP helped with construction at 10395 Soquel Dr in Aptos. At 9:13 p.m., a traffic break happened northbound at Morrissey, and lanes 2 and 3 were closed at Pasa. The incident was reported on June 21.
   
• A traffic hazard was reported at the intersection of San Juan Rd and Porter Dr in Watsonville / Pajaro at 5:56 a.m. today.
   

Long-term projects

These have been going on for a while, but are still worth keeping in mind.

• Mill St. between Main St. and Highway 9 in Ben Lomond will be closed to vehicles from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on 6/6, 7/4, 8/1, 9/5, and 10/3 for the Ben Lomond Village Market event. Traffic control and detour signs will be posted.
   

Disclosure: Traffic incidents are partially generated by artificial intelligence. We are constantly working to improve the accuracy and quality of our AI-generated content. However, there may still be errors or inaccuracies. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

The post Monday morning traffic: Highway 9 one-way traffic, SR-152 & Hwy 17 lane closures appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

A dispute between the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and property owners in Aptos Village about who owns a portion of land along the rail line is moving forward, with a trial expected to begin no earlier than the week of July 13.

A Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge scheduled a November trial date for Leif Ames, who faces murder charges in the killing of his friend Hubert Cross in Live Oak in 2020. The trial has been delayed on at least eight occasions.

A Pajaro Valley Unified School District committee has recommended renaming Cesar E. Chavez Middle School either Central Coast Middle School or Tagami Hashimoto Middle School following allegations of sexual abuse against the late civil rights and farmworker advocate that surfaced earlier this year. The school board reviewed the options last week and is expected to vote on a new name at a future meeting.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for its newsletters.

Legislators last week approved a health tax bill meant to continue critical federal funding for the state’s Medicaid program, also known as Medi-Cal. Their approval comes despite warnings from health industry leaders that the tax, as designed, will raise premiums for privately insured Californians.

New federal rules are forcing the state to restructure its managed care organization tax, or MCO tax, which the state collects from health insurance plans that coordinate care for their members. California has been charging Medi-Cal insurance plans at a higher rate than private plans. The state’s newly designed solution, Senate Bill 125, will lower the tax on Medi-Cal plans and raise the tax on private plans to the same level. If finalized by the governor, and accepted by the federal government, the new plan would shift more of the cost burden onto people who buy private insurance but bring in less revenue overall. 

Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, a Santa Barbara Democrat, told reporters last week that there was no perfect plan for redesigning the tax and that the Senate still has concerns, but the proposal senators voted through is one that would bring in money quickly. 

“We have as a Senate been very clear that we needed revenue … it was a matter of making a decision which we could troubleshoot given what is happening at the federal level,” Limón said.

As part of the tax and spending law Congress passed last summer, the federal government imposed new restrictions on provider taxes, including the one imposed on health plans. Under existing rules, California received almost $8 billion annually from this tax; the new limits mean the state will receive billions less. The Legislature’s plan tries to fill at least some of that gap.

The plan does not directly raise health insurance premiums. Instead it imposes a higher tax on private plans, which have said they’d pass the cost down to consumers.

The proposal would require all health plans, both public and private, to pay a monthly rate of $8.85 per enrollee – a total cost of about $1.5 billion a year for private plans. If health plans pass the entire tax to their members, Californians could see about a 1.5% increase in their monthly premiums, according to the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office. That’s on top of the yearly premium rate increases that people see year to year. 

The California Association of Health Plans, the health insurance lobby, estimates this would translate to consumers paying about $100 more in premiums each year. That means a family of four could be looking at $400 more a year in health premiums. 

Charles Bacchi, president of the association, said health plans roll taxes and fees into the administrative portion of premiums. “That is just actuarial science,” he said. “So when you increase taxes on health plans and insurers, that is built into premium rates and the customer pays it.”

Affordability is key concern

The Legislature’s plan largely mirrors what Gov. Gavin Newsom and his Department of Finance proposed last month. Bacchi argues the state could have imposed a smaller tax to lessen the impact on plans and consumers. 

The Department of Finance said it tried to balance affordability for privately insured patients with generating enough revenue to keep the safety net afloat amid federal funding cuts. The department settled on the $8.85 a month assessment because that  rate would generate $2.3 billion a year – roughly the amount that the state generated before 2023 to support Medi-Cal, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesperson for the Department of Finance.

A medical worker pushing a bed through the corridors of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister. Credit: Larry Valenzuela / CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Of that total, $2 billion would support existing Medi-Cal services, while roughly $300 million would fund previously established rate increases for providers delivering primary, maternal, and mental health care to enrollees, Palmer said. 

Some legislators continued to raise concerns late into the week. Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, a San Diego Democrat, said she found the tax plan “extremely problematic” as she questioned the administration during a hearing Wednesday. “I am very uncomfortable with this proposal and the economic burden it will have on the families I serve as a Senator but also a physician.” She voted for the measure on Thursday.

Bacchi’s organization, along with physician groups and the California Hospital Association, urged legislators to reject the tax proposal as is.

“What makes this vote especially disappointing is that California leaders continue to talk about affordability as a top priority,” health plans said in a statement after the Assembly approved the measure. “It is difficult to reconcile those statements with a vote that will increase health insurance premiums on the very people policymakers say they are trying to help.”

Industry leaders also argued that the tax measure conflicts with Proposition 35, which voters passed in 2024 and which limits the taxes charged to private health plans. Prop 35 also requires that much of the revenue be used to expand Medi-Cal services and increase provider rates, rather than offset general fund spending on the program. 

“Raising health insurance premiums to help balance the state budget is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Dr. René Bravo, president of the California Medical Association, which represents doctors around the state. “It will only make it harder for families to keep coverage and get the care they need.”

New federal rules prompt tax redesign

California is redesigning its MCO tax to comply with new federal rules implemented through H.R. 1, the spending plan Congress approved last year. California currently charges Medicaid plans, which are reimbursed jointly by the state and federal government, a significantly higher tax than private plans. The state then uses revenue from this tax to draw down matching federal funds. 

The Trump administration argues that states “exploit” this funding mechanism by effectively pushing their share of Medicaid costs onto the federal government. Critics of the tax describe its “net effect” this way: Insurers remain financially whole, federal Medicaid spending increases, and states reduce their own costs.

To close what federal officials call a “loophole,” the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a final rule earlier this year prohibiting states from taxing Medicaid plans more than commercial plans. Now that the legislature has approved California’s revised MCO tax plan, Newsom must sign the measure in order for the state to seek approval for it from the federal government.

Consumer advocates say that maintaining strong revenues from the MCO tax is key to keeping the Medi-Cal program running. But if the state knows that insurers will pass the cost onto private customers through higher premiums, California legislators should ensure the money remains within the health system and improves care. 

“What we don’t find acceptable is to have individual healthcare consumers pay increased premiums to support the MCO tax, and then just have that money backfill the general fund,” said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. 

Because the Legislature’s plan resembles the governor’s proposal, budget experts expect Newsom to sign it as part of the larger budget package. One major hurdle remains, however: federal approval. The Trump administration must approve the state’s revised tax plan for California to continue drawing down federal matching funds. 

The job of lawmakers is to put together a proposal that is compliant with new federal rules, said Adriana Ramos-Yamamoto, a senior policy fellow at the California Budget and Policy Center. 

But, she added, “it’s not a guarantee that the federal government will approve our new MCO tax proposal.”

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

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A Dungeons & Dragons program offered by Santa Cruz Public Libraries offers a welcoming and fun environment for people interested in the game thanks to an enthusiastic volunteer, who’ll be leaving the program to embark on a new chapter living in Europe.

Santa Cruz’s iconic surfer statue has long celebrated the city’s surf culture – but it tells only half the story, write two veteran Santa Cruz surfers, Kaila Pearson and Sarah Gerhardt, the first woman to surf Mavericks in 1999. From Antoinette Swan and the Hawaiian princes to generations of pioneering women who challenged barriers in the lineup, women have helped shape Santa Cruz surfing from the beginning, they argue. A companion statue honoring the women of the water would, they write, recognize women’s often-overlooked contributions and reflect the full history of our surf town. If Santa Cruz values its surfing heritage, they believe, it should make that legacy visible for future generations.

Local female surfers Kaila Pearson and Sarah Gerhardt explain why the statue project matters to the Santa Cruz County community and to them personally.