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Aptos
July 7, 2025

Redwood Village

Redwood village
By John Hibble, of the Aptos History Museum One of the many gems that make Aptos different than anywhere else is Redwood Village, hidden in a redwood grove across Highway One from Deer Park Shopping Center. Today it is a small commercial center but...

Preview of the 2017-2018 County Budget

In a recent budget message to the Board, the County Administrative Officer noted that as the county emerged from the Great Recession, the Board has worked to limit the growth of the overall budget while focusing on restoring reserves and investing in key

Key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

As you may well have heard, at the end of 2017 Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. While corporations might be celebrating the cut of the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, many might be wondering how the new tax law affects them personally.

Overview of current road funding and conditions

The Board of Supervisors recently received an overview of the condition of local roads, including a scoring measure called the Pavement Condition Index (PCI). The PCI is a score from 0-100 that gives you a sense of the condition of local roads

Reflections on my sixth year as your County Supervisor

As I begin each new year as your County Supervisor, I like to report back in this column on some of the things we’ve accomplished because of your partnership and communication of priorities.

APTOS History Corner

Before Rancho Del Mar and Safeway came to Aptos, that property was used for growing sugar beets and cauliflower. State Park Drive was lined on both sides with huge cypress trees. Highway 1 was a four-lane highway with no overpass or on-and-off ramps. Aptos was a small town but was getting ready for a growth spurt and the Cabrillo College Aptos campus was just being planned.

Making it easier to build accessory dwelling units

Throughout California there are discussions about how to address the significant affordable housing crisis. Recent academic and industry studies done on home affordability have shown that in some coastal communities less than a quarter of people earn enough income to be able to purchase a home in their community and many can’t afford rising rents. Seniors are struggling to stay in the homes they own with an overall rising cost of living. Santa Cruz County is no exception.

A look back and a look forward

Sept. 15 marked 10 years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The Financial Crisis of 2008 wiped out about 8.8 million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and caused about $19 trillion in household wealth to evaporate. While the recession officially started in December 2007, we wanted to review a timeline of some key events and also look forward to the future.

College savings and charitable contributions

A couple of months ago we wrote about some of the major changes taking place with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act last December. However, this month we wanted to focus on two aspects in particular and how you may be able to utilize some of the changes for your benefit.

Water, water everywhere | History Corner

Every winter, the people who live and work in the flats of Rio Dell Mar experience flooding in the streets and in their yards. Every winter, news reporters descend on the area to cover the events. This year, one reporter asked me about the...