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Every so often folks talk about splitting the state -- usually it's the far northern part of the state that wants to be out from under the interfering do-gooders of the Big City -- and every so often folks talk about splitting counties. Santa Barbara County is having a vote about it this year. It lost be a big margin in 1978.
So now, this guy Skillicorn wants to split off Watsonville (South County, rural, growing, becoming rural) and annex a bit of North Monterey County and San Benito County and make a new county. Because, he says, the "tricounty" corner has more in common with itself than with the wealthier, more urban, greener North County.
Which is exactly why I don't think the county should split. Despite the fact that Watsonville is growing much faster than Santa Cruz, greater wealth is generated in the decadent north. The University is in North COunty, and that's a pot of gold. Santa Cruz County is small -- one of the smallest, geographically, in the state. In terms of population, it looks like California is on the high end of the middle at 256K or so -- we have a bunch of those mountainous counties with populations in the low thousands (1.2K for Alpine! That's about how many students there are in Emma's high school). The way things are now, it's also a county with a tremendously diversified economic base -- agriculture, light industry, and service in the southern end, the university, computer science, tourism, and a little fishing and logging yet in the northern end. There's a very good community college right smack in the middle of the county -- does anybody believe for a minute that another such institution would be built, staffed, and supported for the new county? What about a new county building? New courts? New sherriff's office? New jail? New planning department? New health department? New county superintendent of schools, assessor, elections department, county agricultural extension -- or do they simply propose to use thee services provided by the original counties without paying taxes to support them?
I don't have the numbers to hand, but it's a general rule that the cities support the rural areas more than the other way around (in terms of taxes and expenditures). There's nothing wrong with that, so long as it's not a gross inequity and so long as the support is going towards making people's lives better and improving the general run of things. But it does mean that if three rural corners split off from their counties to spite the cities (Santa Cruz, Hollister, Salinas, Monterey), who's going to suffer the most are the residents of the new rural county, who will have to pungle up for a brand new infrastructure and bureaucracy.
I do think that the tiny strip of North Monterey County that lies along the Pajaro River and gets most of its services from Santa Cruz County ought to be transferred to Santa Cruz County. It just makes sense. And anyway, Monterey County is amazingly huge. It goes on forever and forever. It can afford to lose a little strip of land, mostly occupied at the moment by strawberry fields and poor people. We could benefit, also, not least because it's nice to have some control over things you are responsible for.
When it comes to state secession -- I don't believe in it, mostly, but I've been lately thinking that it's not unthinkable.
In other news, my befuddled friend would like to have a proper church funeral for her husband, which is nonplussing to her kids and his, because they already scattered his ashes on the bay and had a get-together at the house, in the modern tradition.
And another friend arrived in town last night which is why I was sitting around talking till past ten and didn't get anything written yesterday. Today just slipped by. Tomorrow is another day.
So now, this guy Skillicorn wants to split off Watsonville (South County, rural, growing, becoming rural) and annex a bit of North Monterey County and San Benito County and make a new county. Because, he says, the "tricounty" corner has more in common with itself than with the wealthier, more urban, greener North County.
Which is exactly why I don't think the county should split. Despite the fact that Watsonville is growing much faster than Santa Cruz, greater wealth is generated in the decadent north. The University is in North COunty, and that's a pot of gold. Santa Cruz County is small -- one of the smallest, geographically, in the state. In terms of population, it looks like California is on the high end of the middle at 256K or so -- we have a bunch of those mountainous counties with populations in the low thousands (1.2K for Alpine! That's about how many students there are in Emma's high school). The way things are now, it's also a county with a tremendously diversified economic base -- agriculture, light industry, and service in the southern end, the university, computer science, tourism, and a little fishing and logging yet in the northern end. There's a very good community college right smack in the middle of the county -- does anybody believe for a minute that another such institution would be built, staffed, and supported for the new county? What about a new county building? New courts? New sherriff's office? New jail? New planning department? New health department? New county superintendent of schools, assessor, elections department, county agricultural extension -- or do they simply propose to use thee services provided by the original counties without paying taxes to support them?
I don't have the numbers to hand, but it's a general rule that the cities support the rural areas more than the other way around (in terms of taxes and expenditures). There's nothing wrong with that, so long as it's not a gross inequity and so long as the support is going towards making people's lives better and improving the general run of things. But it does mean that if three rural corners split off from their counties to spite the cities (Santa Cruz, Hollister, Salinas, Monterey), who's going to suffer the most are the residents of the new rural county, who will have to pungle up for a brand new infrastructure and bureaucracy.
I do think that the tiny strip of North Monterey County that lies along the Pajaro River and gets most of its services from Santa Cruz County ought to be transferred to Santa Cruz County. It just makes sense. And anyway, Monterey County is amazingly huge. It goes on forever and forever. It can afford to lose a little strip of land, mostly occupied at the moment by strawberry fields and poor people. We could benefit, also, not least because it's nice to have some control over things you are responsible for.
When it comes to state secession -- I don't believe in it, mostly, but I've been lately thinking that it's not unthinkable.
In other news, my befuddled friend would like to have a proper church funeral for her husband, which is nonplussing to her kids and his, because they already scattered his ashes on the bay and had a get-together at the house, in the modern tradition.
And another friend arrived in town last night which is why I was sitting around talking till past ten and didn't get anything written yesterday. Today just slipped by. Tomorrow is another day.
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