COMMUNITY BRIEFS

Mitali Hindia Weiglein Appointed to SV School Board

Mitali Hindia Weiglein is the newest member of the Scotts Valley School Board. She was appointed by the school board to fill a vacancy.

She has worked for six years for Salud Para La Gente, where she is program manager. She has bachelor’s degrees in sociology and business administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s of health administration from the University of Phoenix.

She is proficient in Gujarati and Hindi and has joined the Scotts Valley Diversity Equity Inclusion and Allyship Community Group on Facebook.

That group has been touched by the loss of Mateo Salvador Diehl, a student at

Scotts Valley High School who took his life a year ago at age 15.

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Free Bus Rides on Feb. 4

Santa Cruz Metro will offer free bus fares countywide, including Hwy 17 and ParaCruz on Saturday, Feb. 4, in recognition of Transit Equity Week, a movement to commemorate the life and legacy of Rosa Parks on her birthday.

Transit Equity Week, organized by local nonprofit Equity Transit, will include a series of events from Monday, Jan. 30 to Saturday, Feb. 4, concluding with the Family Fair in Watsonville.

At the fair, Metro will showcase one of its new One Ride at a Time buses, a campaign to give everyone in Santa Cruz County the opportunity to protect the environment simply by riding Metro.

Cuevas, who chairs the Board Name Exploration Subcommittee. “Though the timeframe is shorter than the community input we sought during the first two years of this process in a series of community education sessions and dialogues, the survey takes just a couple minutes to complete and can be shared broadly. We want to hear from you!”

The survey also is a call for volunteers to serve on a 25-member task force to help the Name Exploration Subcommittee narrow the list of names received to a set of proposed finalists.

The Task Force will meet five times during the spring semester, from noon to 1:30 p.m. on March 10, April 7, April 21, May 5, and May 19.

“Cabrillo Name Change” page 19

Riders can accrue points from every ride which can then be donated to partners protecting the environment, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Bay of Life Fund.

“We’re excited to offer equitable transportation options to the Family Fair Day by providing free bus fares,” said Metro CEO/ General Manager Michael Tree. •••

Jobs in Santa Cruz County

Sector Dec. 2022 Change from Dec. 2021

Government 23,500 Up 1,300

Private education 17,800 Up 600 & health

Construction 5,100 Up 300

Manufacturing 7,700 Up 300

Leisure/hospitality 12,300 Up 200

Other 4,800 Up 200

Trade/transportation/ 16,900 no change utilities

Professional/business 10,800 no change services

Financial 3,300 no change Nonfarm 102,800 Up 2,500 Farm 3,600 no change

Total 102,800 Up 2,900

Labor force 127,400 Up 1.8%

Employment* 128,600 Up .8%

Unemployment 6,000 Down 13% Unemployment rate 4.5% 5.2% Count is on the 12th of the month (before the storms)

*Includes commuters out of the county Source: California Employment Development Department. •••

Unemployment in Santa Cruz County was unchanged in December at 4.5% as the labor force grew from 132,000 to 133,500. For most of 2022, unemployment hovered around 3.8%, compared to 17+% in 2020, fueled by pandemic restrictions. Construction, a typically higherpaying sector, is healthy with more than 5,000 jobs. So is manufacturing, which tops 7,500 jobs. n