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Monterey Bay This Week: Regulator rejects Vistra's water monitoring plans, local communities resist ICE, an interview on Iran, and more

Three high school students hold signs in front of the Santa Cruz Clocktower. From left to right they read: "We are skipping our lesson to teach you one," "Preach love not hate!" and "When cruelty becomes normal compassion becomes radical".
Amy Mayer
/
KAZU News
San Lorenzo Valley High School students Sage Erez, Roszi Johnson, and Zoe Ammann hold their protest signs by the Santa Cruz Clocktower on Friday.

Highlights from this week's news roundup:

  • The Central Coast Water Board has rejected Vistra’s plans for assessing surface water and groundwater contamination from its battery fire in Moss Landing last year.
  • Residents, elected officials, and community organizations throughout the Monterey Bay region protest ICE.
  • KAZU's news director interviews Kurdish-Iranian writer Ava Homa about the recent state violence in Iran.

Plus other stories from the week.

Elena is an Emmy award-winning researcher, reporter, and producer. At KAZU, they cover agriculture, housing and homelessness, and the aftermath of the January 2025 lithium battery fire in Moss Landing. Their reporting and research has been featured on NPR, KQED, Netflix, Reveal, CalMatters, and more. Elena is an alum of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and UC Santa Cruz. You can reach them at elena@kazu.org.
Katie Brown comes to KAZU after earning spot news and investigative journalism awards for her reporting and photography in Maine. A Report for America alumna and former Metcalf Institute fellow, Katie’s reporting beats span business, environment, and public health.
Erin is an award-winning journalist and photographer. She's written for local and national outlets, including the Smithsonian and Science Magazine. She has a master's degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Amy Mayer is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience in public radio. Before KAZU, she worked as an editor for the California Newsroom and at St. Louis Public Radio. For eight years, she covered agriculture as the Harvest Public Media reporter based at Iowa Public Radio. She's also worked at stations in Massachusetts and Alaska and has written for many newspapers, magazines and online news outlets.