Local News

The Santa Cruz County Women’s Commission is now accepting nominations for the 2019 Trailblazers Awards.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A Santa Cruz-based community organization this month publicly stated its opposition to a proposal that would increase the distribution of needles to drug addicts, saying that similar efforts have led to increased numbers of used ones found in public places. The letter by...

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County will send out a request for proposals (RFP) for an Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that would have independent oversight of the Sheriff’s Office, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday. Assembly Bill 1185, a state law passed in 2020,...

SISKIYOU COUNTY—The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday arrested a man in connection with the shooting death of a former Santa Cruz County man. Timothy Chase McDonald, 22, of Yreka was arrested for murder and was booked at the Siskiyou County Jail in Yreka. He...

WATSONVILLE—Cabrillo College got its start six decades ago in several condemned buildings in an unused corner of Watsonville High School.  More than 800 freshmen began classes there on Sept. 1, 1959. The community college has since evolved into a mid-county educational centerpiece, serving more than 15,000...

FREEDOM—A Freedom man was arrested Saturday after a bullet he fired during a July 4 celebration ricocheted off the ground and entered a nearby residence, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said. The bullet came within inches of a 10-year-old girl in her Miller...

The Fourth of July parade unfolded along a section of Soquel Drive Thursday, with 103 entries in what has been branded as the World’s Shortest Parade.

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,...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Gov. Gavin Newsom on May 14 released an updated state budget that calls for a 10 percent cut to school districts across the state. Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez said that the district is looking at a $19.18 million slash. Watsonville/Aptos/Santa...

SANTA CRUZ—Far West Fungi mushroom farm of Moss Landing is branching out. They recently opened their first-ever store in downtown Santa Cruz.  In the works for the past two years, the new spot will feature about 16 varieties of fresh mushrooms, dozens of dried mushrooms,...