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Aptos
August 13, 2026

Railbanking initiative heads to June ballot

rail trail
SANTA CRUZ—The fate of Santa Cruz County’s rail line is now in the hands of the voters. The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-0 to place on the June 7 ballot an initiative which, if successful, would amend Santa Cruz County’s...

Most Santa Cruz County schools close for the week

Cabrillo College name change
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Cabrillo College on Monday joined most school districts across Santa Cruz County when officials announced that classes will be canceled through Aug. 28. The move came after the CZU August Lightning Complex fires forced the evacuation of teachers and staff. In making the...

Sheriff’s detectives arrest wallet thief

SCOTTS VALLEY—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s detectives on Wednesday arrested a Live Oak man suspected of using credit and bank cards stolen from a firefighter’s truck to make thousands of dollars in purchases. Brian Lee Johnson, 34, has been charged with using stolen credit cards, receiving...

Cabrillo sees enrollment drop following fires, pandemic

Cabrillo College enrollment
APTOS—When Covid-19 began to sweep the U.S.—and brought with it an economic recession—Cabrillo College officials expected a jump in enrollment that typically comes with a battered economy. But the college is now seeing a significant drop in those numbers, which it pins on the double...

New eateries settle into Aptos Village

APTOS—A group of business owners from the new Aptos Village complex gathered for a meeting in early March to discuss possible events and projects they wanted to do together. Their aim was to bring the community into the blooming hub.  But days later those plans...

Carrillo pleads guilty to Gutzwiller killing

Steven Carrillo
SANTA CRUZ—The man who shot a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s sergeant to death—days after killing a federal building security guard in Oakland during a crime spree two years ago—pleaded guilty Monday to the local charges. Steven Carrillo, 33, a former U.S. Air Force sergeant, will...

CZU Complex now state’s 9th-most destructive fire ever recorded

CZU August Lightning Complex Fires
SCOTTS VALLEY—The CZU August Lightning Complex has destroyed 1,483 structures as of Tuesday morning, making it the ninth-most destructive fire ever recorded in the state. The majority of those structures are single-family homes in the Santa Cruz mountain towns of Boulder Creek and Bonny Doon,...

Cabrillo Gallery opens annual Faculty & Staff exhibit

APTOS—Cabrillo College classes started Aug. 29, and with it came the first exhibition of the year at the school’s on-campus art gallery. Connections: Cabrillo Art, Photography & Art History Faculty & Staff Exhibition is now open and will run through Sept. 23. The annual show...

Roaring Camp Pushes Back on Reported Railbanking Talks

roaring camp
It’s just after noon on Jan. 28, and a Roaring Camp train is getting ready to leave the station to wind its way up the Santa Cruz Mountains. “We’re two minutes late now, but that’s OK,” says the announcer on board, as the last stragglers...

Photos: Santa Cruz County Jamboree | High school football

APTOS—The high school football season unofficially kicked off this past weekend with the Santa Cruz County Jamboree at Cabrillo College. St. Francis, Pajaro Valley and Watsonville high schools along with four other schools within the county scrimmaged for the first time this season at...