Sheriff’s Office unveils ‘less-lethal’ devices
APTOS—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies have a new tool to help them arrest uncooperative suspects without serious injury.
Dozens of sheriff’s office personnel on Wednesday were training on the use of the Bola Wrap, a handheld device that fires an 8-foot cord with barbed hooks...
Supervisors pass single-use cup fee
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously adopted an ordinance that will require restaurants and stores to charge a 25-cent fee on all single-use cups starting next summer. The move is aimed at reducing the estimated 50 million to-go cups...
Santa Cruz police evict homeless campers
SANTA CRUZ—Dozens of homeless people were roused by police officers in their tents early Friday morning at Phoenix Camp, the unsanctioned encampment behind the Gateway Plaza at River Street and Highway 1 in Santa Cruz.
The message was clear: the residents were trespassing on city-owned...
Pajaronian joins donation campaign Santa Cruz Gives
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaronian this year has jumped on the growing digital giving movement Santa Cruz Gives, the first crowdsourcing website for multiple Santa Cruz County nonprofits.
The campaign, which launched for its fifth holiday season Wednesday, raises funds for 37 selected nonprofits via SantaCruzGives.org, where donors...
Ross Camp reopens
SANTA CRUZ—An unsanctioned homeless camp in Santa Cruz has reopened, this time with a new name, increased security and a set of rules designed to reduce crime and drug use.
The so-called Ross Survival Camp at River Street and Highway 1 was opened on Monday...
Aptos man shot, killed by San Jose Police
SAN JOSE—A 29-year-old Aptos man was shot and killed Saturday by police on Highway 85 during a vehicle stop, San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said Wednesday.
San Jose Police say that the man, who has not been named, was the passenger during the stop...
Reward offered, video released in kidnapping case
PLEASURE POINT—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office on Wednesday released a video of the suspects who allegedly kidnapped a man from his Pleasure Point home last month and then killed him.
Tushar Atre, 50, was kidnapped from his upscale oceanfront home on Oct. 1 around...
Five mid-county stores cited in alcohol, tobacco sting
APTOS—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies issued misdemeanor citations at five mid-county businesses after employees allegedly sold alcohol or tobacco to minor decoys, Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Lansdowne said.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Alcohol and Tobacco Compliance Unit conducted the Nov. 7 decoy operation at...
Second Harvest launches food drive
APTOS—In Santa Cruz County, one in four children are considered food insecure, a number Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Willy Elliott‑McCrea called “staggering” and “unacceptable.”
The growing numbers of hungry people who struggle to feed themselves and their families was the impetus – and the...
Embattled Santa Cruz County judge announces retirement
SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Ariadne Symons on Monday announced she will retire from the bench at the conclusion of her current term in 2020.
Symons issued a press release outlining her nearly four-decade career.
“Serving for more than a decade on the bench...
