Following weeks of sometimes tense negotiations, California legislators agreed Thursday on a $6.5 billion proposal aimed at getting the state’s young people back in classrooms this spring.
The “Safe and Open Schools” plan would overhaul a $2 billion proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom that was widely criticized by school superintendents, unions, and lawmakers. The proposal unveiled by Newsom in December would have rewarded schools that reopened with additional funding for safety measures.
Critics said it set unrealistic timelines, didn’t include enough money to pay for frequent COVID-19 testing of students and teachers and failed to address the vaccination of teachers.
The new proposal would triple the funding for schools. It also requires county public health departments to offer vaccinations to school staff who return to in-person classes.
The proposal, detailed in two identical pieces of legislation, would not force schools to reopen. But it would provide more funding to those that do.
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Salinas police say they have arrested a man in connection with his girlfriend's Wednesday night slaying.
According to police, a welfare check led officers to find the victim, identified as a 57-year-old mother, at a Salinas home on the 1700 block of Great Island Street. Police said the search for the woman's boyfriend, 59-year-old Richard Ruiz, started immediately.
Police say they found Ruiz in Gilroy a few hours later. Ruiz was booked into Monterey County Jail on charges of murder and evading officers.
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The Ocean Protection Council has awarded more than a million dollars to help restore Elkhorn Slough.
The $1.3 million in new funding will be used to bring back species to the slough. The money comes from California's Proposition 68, a 2018 ballot measure that authorized $4 billion for environmental protection and restoration projects.
According to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, Elkhorn Slough supports more than 340 bird, 550 marine invertebrate, and 102 fish species.
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A Watsonville man has now been charged with the first homicide of the year in Santa Cruz county. Ricardo Jesus Garcia is believed to have accidentally fatally shot 30 year-old Octavio Varela Gutierrez the night of January 7th. The 2 were reportedly in a vehicle on South Green Valley Road, when Garcia (who was sitting in the back seat and is said to have been intoxicated) accidentally fired a weapon. The round hit Gutierrez in the upper torso as he sat in the driver’s seat. Garcia then fled the scene instead of attempting to render aid.
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