Temporary road closures announced for Boulder Creek 4th of July Parade
The County of Santa Cruz Department of Community Development and Infrastructure has announced that Boulder Creek Business Association will be blocking vehicle access on a portion of Highway 9 between South Street and Highway 236 to hold its 2023 Boulder Creek 4th of July Parade.
All routes connecting to Highway 9 within the parade zone will also be blocked for vehicle access. Pine Street between State Highway 236 and Harmon Street will be closed, and Lomond Street between Pine Street and Railroad Avenue will be closed.
Barricades will be in place on Tuesday, July 4, from 9:30am to 2pm. The Division of Public Works would like motorists to avoid this area if possible or be prepared for delays. Emergency response vehicles will be accommodated.
Questions may be directed to Victor Acevedo at 831-454-2160.
Work on Highway 17 at Jarvis Slide set to resume Wednesday
A project on Highway 17 to make repairs at the Jarvis Slide, damaged during storms of 2018, will restart on Wednesday, July 5, with overnight lane closures.
Overnight lane closures initially scheduled through last week have been suspended and will resume on Wednesday.
Crews will continue work to construct a rock fence barrier, add mesh drapery to stabilize the slope, and construct a drainage system at the Jarvis Slide, located at Post Mile 8.2, north of Scotts Valley and approximately one-half mile south of Sugarloaf Road.
Travelers in both directions of Highway 17 will encounter a reduction to one lane of travel between Vine Hill and Sugarloaf roads beginning Wednesday, from 9pm to 6am. Overnight closures will take place Monday through Thursday nights for the next two to three months.
CHP will be on site to assist with traffic control. Message and directional signs will be in place to assist travelers in the area. Travelers can expect delays of 10 minutes.
County to develop artificial intelligence guidelines
The County of Santa Cruz will begin developing policies for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by County staff, placing it at the vanguard of local governments beginning to contemplate the future uses of AI.
On June 13, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to develop policies regarding AI usage by staff. In response, the County is establishing a working group to develop policies that include ethical considerations, risks, data privacy and opportunities associated with AI implementation, which will guide internal and external uses of AI.
AI is the fastest-growing technology launch of all time, and its rapid development and expansion hold both great promise and potential risk. AI could enhance efficiency while improving service delivery to residents, and the County will be encouraging staff to experiment appropriately with the use of AI.
In unanimously approving the development of an AI staff policy, the Board asked for a progress report within three months. The County intends to develop interim AI usage guidelines while more comprehensive policy development proceeds.
The Board directed staff to develop AI policies that address, at minimum: data privacy and security, including refraining from sharing confidential and sensitive data with AI interfaces until the systems are determined to be operating in compliance with HIPAA and other data privacy laws; transparency, assuring that the use of AI is explainable to users; accountability, including evaluations to ensure AI system are accurate and/or operating appropriately; fairness and bias, assuring that AI does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex or other protected classes; informed consent, assuring users are informed and can opt out of using AI; and responsible, including the development of ethical guideline for the use of AI technologies.
