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Aptos
October 30, 2025

Supervisors signal support for tenant protection rules

Watsonville evictions
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—One woman lost her job and couldn’t pay rent, and then found herself in a battle with her landlord, who didn’t believe her story and threatened eviction.  A family financially affected by the Covid-19 pandemic found themselves battling a landlord who raised their...

More than 700 structures destroyed by CZU Complex fire; now 24% contained

CZU August Lightning Complex fires
SCOTTS VALLEY—The level of containment in the CZU August Lightning Complex fires continues to increase, and so does the number of confirmed destroyed and damaged structures. The blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains has destroyed 746 structures and is still threatening more than 13,000 others...

Pedestrian struck, killed on Highway 1

highway 1 freedom boulevard fatal crash caltrans california highway patrol
APTOS—A man was struck and killed by an SUV early Thursday morning on Highway 1 in Aptos. California Highway Patrol Officer Alyssa Gutierrez said the victim was wandering around the southbound lanes on foot around 6:20am when he was struck by a Honda CRV driven...

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...

Covid-19, fires taxing service providers

Second Harvest Food Bank food distribution
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The CZU August Lightning Complex fires have so far destroyed more than 500 homes and forced 77,000 people to evacuate from their community. Those people have flooded evacuation centers throughout the county. That, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic that has upended the economy...

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...

Santa Cruz County Fair runs through weekend

santa cruz county fair bethany chalmers peruvian stick insect
WATSONVILLE—When the Santa Cruz County Fair opened Wednesday, Watsonville resident Manuel Monroy was one of the first ones through the gate, his 3-year-old son Leo at his side for the boy’s first fair experience. On their agenda was the popular All Alaskan Pig Races, a...

School arts funding bill among seven propositions on Nov. 8 ballot

In 2008, as the economic recession was ravaging communities nationwide, school districts were forced to take a close look at their budgets, and in many cases make massive cuts to preserve the meat of their programs. The first casualties of this across-the-board slashing were often...

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...

Two vying for PVUSD Trustee Area 1 seat

PVUSD
APTOS—This is the second of two articles showcasing the candidates vying for seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees.  Last week, incumbent Jennifer Schacher and Olivia Flores had their say. With four seats up for election, two went uncontested. Daniel Dodge Jr....