Elena Neale-Sacks
Reporter/Producer, California Local News FellowAfter freelancing for KAZU for 8 months, Elena joined the station full-time in September 2024 as a California Local News Fellow. Prior to joining KAZU, they worked as a podcast producer at The Oregonian. 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. They currently live in Santa Cruz.
When they aren't reporting, chances are they're either playing competitive ultimate frisbee, hiking, camping, playing board games, or hanging out with their cat Cheddar.
Email: elena@kazu.org
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded its first construction contract for the $599 million Pajaro River levee and floodwall project. And, the Trump administration has launched its latest anti-semitism investigation—this time, across the entire Cal State University system. -
The closure of Highway 1 in Big Sur has cost Central Coast communities hundreds of millions of dollars in lost tourism spending. And, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band will regain full access rights to land in their ancestral territory for the first time since their forced removal over 225 years ago. -
The Salinas City Council decided to leave renter protection laws up to voters. And, a local infectious disease doctor with Montage Health urges people to get vaccinated ahead of respiratory virus season. -
'American Agitators' screening in Watsonville Friday, USDA will stop publishing food insecurity dataIndivisible Pájaro Valley and the Watsonville Film Festival are screening the documentary American Agitators this Friday. Plus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will stop publishing data on food insecurity—a problem that affects tens of thousands of people on the Central Coast. -
Monterey County has updates on cleanup efforts following the January battery plant fire. But residents and some supervisors remain frustrated by the lack of information about possible human and environmental health impacts. Ongoing research from Moss Landing Marine Labs may help answer their questions. -
Known for their signature performance of “My Humps” by The Black Eyed Peas, Bob and Patti Vasconcellos have become a staple at Coasters Bar & Grill. -
Kaiser Permanente members can walk in and get the updated COVID-19 vaccine at no cost starting this week. And, the City of Santa Cruz hosted a fun run over the weekend to raise tsunami awareness. -
En el Valle de Salinas, los agricultores locales se han visto afectados por la reciente pérdida de los programas federales que les abrían el acceso a mercados para comercializar sus productos. -
The U.S. Supreme Court has made it easier for immigration agents to stop people based on their race. And, a Central Coast food distribution network aims to shorten the farm to fork supply chain and help area small farms. -
A day of mourning in Santa Cruz for the thousands of children who have been killed in Gaza over the last two years. And, Monday marks 60 years since the Delano grape strike began in the Central Valley.
