Combination of debt from the attempted Shutterstock acquisition and litigation from hedge funds/VC related to their initial public stock warrants.

From their 2nd quarter filings:

The Company’s liquidity position has been adversely affected by:

• ongoing Warrant Litigation, with the Company paying $110.9 million in judgment and associated interest in the second quarter of 2026 and carrying a remaining litigation reserve of approximately $99.5 million as of June 30, 2026. See “Note 11 - Legal Proceedings and Contingencies.”;

• significant costs incurred in relation to the recently terminated Merger (which was terminated by the Company on July 7, 2026), with the Company incurring approximately $60.4 million of legal, accounting and other direct costs through June 30, 2026; and

• high interest expense including net interest expense associated with the financing that was obtained in anticipation of the recently terminated Merger, with the Company incurring approximately $30.1 million of interest expense, net of interest earned on the escrowed funds through June 30, 2026, along with $13.5 million in associated financing fees.

If they’re lucky, growers can sell their uncontracted grapes at a loss to buyers making concentrated syrup.

Part of the problem being ridiculous contracts that prevent the grapes from being sold or given away even if the person who contracted them decides they don’t want the grapes

This happened on a county road, really not intended for pedestrians. https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8418081,-97.47458,380a

I think this was poorly explained in the article, their other legal mechanism would be to elect a functioning city government. In the absence of this, they can legally declare the city abandoned so that they are administered directly by the county (regional) government.

As long as the city exists, the city is typically responsible for utilities within the city limits. The city government is responsible for requesting aid and coordinating repairs to the water infrastructure. There seem to be some sort of local politics issue where they are unwilling to elect local officials to do this, may be people on the other side who want the city to be declared abandoned. By abandoning the city they can appeal directly to the county government to help repair the water system.