Cabrillo College students Maria Isabel Gonzalez and Natalie Cuevas discuss transportation solutions with Santa Cruz Local CEO Kara Meyberg Guzman at a March 2025 event. (Allison Garcia — Santa Cruz Local)
Santa Cruz Local is a nonprofit news organization building civic engagement in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley.
We show residents how to participate in local government and demonstrate that they can impact decisions. We ask residents what they need and we push elected leaders on residents’ priorities.
We’re tracking examples of residents who – inspired by Santa Cruz Local – have taken action on local issues. We’re also tracking instances when our newsroom’s pressure on leaders results in change. Read our theory of change in our strategic plan.
By the numbers since July 15, 2025
Last updated: Dec. 9, 2025
Residents we’ve inspired to submit public comment to local government
378
Residents we’ve connected with basic needs through our guides
163
Residents inspired to volunteer
36
Residents inspired to run for office or other public service
6
Santa Cruz Local event attendees
380
December 2025
Nearly 20 Santa Cruz Local readers joined our staff for Santa Cruz Local Volunteer Day at Second Harvest Food Bank in Watsonville on Dec. 3, 2025. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local / CatchLight Local)
Santa Cruz County residents volunteer at food bank
Santa Cruz Local brought 18 residents to volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank in Watsonville. Our readers have told us that they want to be part of fighting hunger in Santa Cruz County in the wake of uncertainty about SNAP benefits.
Our newsroom stepped up to empower residents to take action. The event, part of Santa Cruz Local’s “Food Week,” connected residents with a local nonprofit working to fight hunger.
Volunteers joined the food bank during a week that is typically slow, and packed and processed almost 2,000 lbs of fresh food for Santa Cruz County residents. Most attendees were first-time volunteers at Second Harvest.
November 2025
Julia Monahan, of Get The Flock Out, is one of dozens who attended the Santa Cruz City Council meeting on Nov. 18 to rally against police using Flock Safety systems to track license plate data. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
Our investigation exposed state law violations by local police
Santa Cruz Local’s investigation showed that the Capitola Police Department violated state law by sharing its database of automatic license plate readers with out-of-state agencies.
At least 190 times since Jan. 1, 2024, sheriffs offices and police departments ran searches on behalf of ICE.
Tens of thousands of residents read our reporting and began engaging on the issue of data privacy in local government.
As a result, the Capitola Police chief said she has ordered new audits and processes to comply with the law.
Following our investigation, the Santa Cruz Police chief also publicly admitted that the City of Santa Cruz similarly violated state law by sharing license plate camera data. Santa Cruz city leaders said they are tightening restrictions and re-evaluating the city’s contract with Flock Security, which stores the data.
November 2025
Cabrillo College students and community members learn about the start of the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s in the film American Agitators. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
Students and community learn about organizing history
Santa Cruz Local, COPA, and other partners convened over 150 community members at Cabrillo College for a viewing of American Agitators, a documentary about community organizer Fred Ross, Sr. A panel of student leaders and organizers shared stories about how they got started in civic participation.
Attendees participated in facilitated conversations about local issues and how to engage, and applied lessons from the film to life in Santa Cruz County. Attendees were connected with local organizations and made commitments to engage in the community.
October 2025
Cabrillo College students listen to panelists from Watsonville Law Center, Your Allied Rapid Response and CalMatters at a Santa Cruz Local event on Oct. 16, 2025. (Amaya Edwards – Santa Cruz Local / CatchLight Local)
Students connect with leaders to understand immigration enforcement changes
At an event hosted by Santa Cruz Local, more than 60 Cabrillo students participated in an information session to understand recent immigration enforcement changes. Panelists answered questions about immigration enforcement, legal rights and activism. Students connected with legal resources and community organizers. Students left more informed and more connected to their community – and each other.
August 2025
Santa Cruz Local has interviewed and surveyed hundreds of residents on their concerns with road safety. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local / CatchLight Local)
Pajaro Valley residents voice concerns on highway safety to local government
In summer 2025, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission surveyed residents on rural highway safety.
The problem? The online survey was complex and required some tech savvy.
We knew from months of interviews and listening sessions that road safety is a top issue for Pajaro Valley residents. On social media, we collected comments from 15 people who were unlikely to otherwise take the government survey, and sent their priorities to the Regional Transportation Commission.
Our series on how and why to participate in the survey was read by thousands of residents.
We directed at least 300 residents to the survey, including:
- Spanish-speakers in the Pajaro Valley on WhatsApp.
- Young people and students on Instagram.
- Residents across the county on Reddit, email and our website.
May 2025
Two state legislators who represent Santa Cruz said they want the University of California to fix problems at UC-owned Hilltop Apartments in Santa Cruz. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)
Elected leaders pledge pressure on university to fix apartment violations
Santa Cruz Local uncovered problems at the University of California-owned Hilltop apartments in Santa Cruz in investigations published in September 2024 and April 2025. The reporting detailed sewage leaks, mold, lagging maintenance, degrading treatment by property managers, unexplained fees, rent hikes and rodents.
November 2024
Noticias Watsonville reporter Fidel M. Soto speaks distributes election guides at Dia de Muertos in Watsonville Plaza in 2024. (Kara Meyberg Guzman — Santa Cruz Local)
Spanish-speaking Watsonville residents get informed on local elections
Ahead of the November 2024 election, our team spoke with more than 300 Spanish-speaking Watsonville residents, a demographic with historically low voter turnout. We answered their questions about the election and how to register to vote.
Seven thousand Pajaro Valley residents received our nonpartisan Spanish-language election guide with information about local races and how to participate.
The guide was distributed by our trusted community partners: Arts Council Santa Cruz County, Community Action Board, Community Bridges, Digital Nest, Estrellas de Esperanza and Esperanza del Valle, Food What?!, Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, Positive Discipline Community Resources, Raíces y Cariño, Santa Cruz County Office of Education, Second Harvest Food Bank, United Way Santa Cruz County and Watsonville Public Library.
October 2024
Woods Cove neighbors in the Santa Cruz Mountains gathered in October 2024 to discuss a Santa Cruz Local story on a housing proposal in their area. (Kara Meyberg Guzman – Santa Cruz Local)
Housing story inspires residents to organize
In response to a Santa Cruz Local story on a Graham Hill Road housing proposal, about a dozen residents of the nearby Woods Cove subdivision convened to discuss the proposal and how it came about. The group invited Santa Cruz Local and then-Santa Cruz County supervisor candidate Monica Martinez to respond to their questions and share advice on how to give feedback to the developer. The group shared Santa Cruz Local’s story widely and invited others to share concerns with local leaders.
October 2024
Cabrillo College students learn about local races and ballot measures at a Santa Cruz Local co-hosted event in October 2024. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local)
Cabrillo students engage with local election issues
An Oct. 16, 2024 event co-hosted by Santa Cruz Local and CalMatters at Cabrillo College’s campus engaged more than 100 students to understand their ballots ahead of the Nov. 5 election. After learning that 24 or 32 local school board seats would go uncontested, one student expressed interest in running for school board. Another student told Santa Cruz Local staff that attending the event inspired her to join in local advocacy work. A handful of students registered to vote at the event.
About 7,000 18- to 29-year-old residents engaged with Santa Cruz Local’s local election guide on Instagram each day in October 2024. Our questions for the candidates were based on the top priorities we heard in interviews with 50 Cabrillo students: housing, traffic, immigration and climate change.
June 2024
Watsonville resident Cosme Lobato shares his priorities at a Santa Cruz Local listening session in June 2024. He said it was a privilege to participate since his parents, who are farmworkers, could not. (Kara Meyberg Guzman — Santa Cruz Local)
Residents — not politicians or journalists — set the election agenda
To understand the needs of Santa Cruz County residents, we interviewed and surveyed and held listening sessions with nearly 1,000 residents ahead of the 2024 elections. We asked: What do you want candidates to address as they compete for your vote?
Residents’ feedback helped us produce the most comprehensive and useful local election guide in our county – read by 1 in 3 voters. We pressed the candidates on the priorities we heard from residents.
The impact of our guide earned us the Local Independent Online News Publishers Public Service Award in September 2025. From the judges:
“Many of the questions answered in the election guides came directly from underserved communities, and Santa Cruz Local went to extraordinary lengths to get the guides into the hands of people who may not have voted in the past. Summary: A really strong, creative effort that supports democracy.”
June 2024
Leslie Nielsen, center, speaks at a June 4, 2024 Santa Cruz Local event for Capitola residents. (Kara Meyberg Guzman — Santa Cruz Local)
Capitola Village business owners push for accountability
Inspired by their participation in a Santa Cruz Local listening session at the Capitola Library, business leaders organized a private forum with Capitola City Council candidates to press them on their concerns. “I don’t feel like what the community wants, and the people in the city who are responsible for executing it, are in as much alignment as they need to be,” said Leslie Nielsen, a short-term rental owner. Nielsen is a member of the Capitola Village and Wharf Business Improvement Area, and worked with her group and Santa Cruz Local to plan the candidate interviews.
June 2024
Residents shared San Lorenzo Valley issues at a Santa Cruz Local listening session in June 2024. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local)
San Lorenzo Valley residents connect on local solutions
At a June 12, 2024 event at the Boulder Creek Library, 18 San Lorenzo Valley residents discussed local issues and discuss potential solutions. Residents shared concern about “the lack of leadership” from elected officials in the San Lorenzo Valley, and proposed a new leadership incubator to support community members who wanted to take on more responsibility. Residents said they wanted more town halls with elected officials and regular office hours with the county supervisor. They also wanted help with the rising cost of living.
Santa Cruz Local pushed the District 5 Santa Cruz County Supervisor residents on these concerns and published their responses in our Election Guide.
December 2023
Pajaro residents and business leaders attend a County of Monterey Board of Supervisors meeting in 2023. (Fidel M. Soto – Noticias Watsonville)
Pajaro residents advocate for — and win — $9.1M in flood aid
Following the disastrous Pajaro flood in March 2023, Pajaro residents and business owners successfully advocated for $9.1 million in direct aid from the County of Monterey that December.
For months prior, Noticias Watsonville, Santa Cruz Local’s Spanish-language news on WhatsApp, informed residents about the planning meetings to discuss flood recovery and how to spend $20 million in state recovery aid. We showed residents how to get involved and highlighted voices of community organizers and advocates.
Two years later, we continue to track the aid rollout, which many residents and business owners say is too slow. We’re holding local leaders accountable for delivering the money as promised and by the state’s Dec. 31, 2025 deadline.
Santa Cruz Local is a nonprofit news organization working to increase civic engagement. Our theory of change is detailed in our strategic plan. (Kara Meyberg Guzman – Santa Cruz Local)