Local News

The County of Santa Cruz has filed a complaint against several pharmaceutical corporations, alleging that they are complicit in fueling the national opioid crisis. The 140-page complaint accuses opioid manufacturing companies of racketeering, negligence, fraud, false advertising and creating a public nuisance. According to the complaint, drug manufacturers downplayed the risks of prescription opioids in order to increase sales.

A utility truck is buried beneath power lines and a shattered utility pole after the driver lost control and plowed into the pole Monday May 14 on Mar Monte Avenue. Around 3:30 p.m. the driver was traveling west on Mar Monte Avenue when his vehicle shot off the road just west of Roback Drive. The California Highway Patrol shut down Mar Monte Avenue in the area. A Pacific Gas and Electric crew was summoned. The CHP said Mar Monte Avenue would remain closed well into the night to allow for repairs. The CHP is still investigating the cause of the crash.

The Aptos High Theater Department is presenting Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” opening Friday. The school is putting its own spin on the classic tale by re-imagining it in the 1980s. In this production directed by teacher Stacy Aronovici and senior Quinn Youngs, the audience will experience the lives of the young housemaid, Cinderella (Ella), played by senior Kaylee Leal, and Prince Christopher (Topher), played by senior Ryan Yeaman. Ella lives with her stepmother, Madame (senior Desiree Hardin), and her two daughters Gabrielle (senior Sara Pedro) and Charlotte (junior Grace Romeu).

Santa Cruz artist Shirley Lehner-Rhoades is currently showing 13 of her paintings on the first floor of the Santa Cruz County Building. As part of the ongoing exhibits put on by the Arts Council Santa Cruz County, the works will be on display through March 16. For information, call 566-5741 or visit www.lehner-rhoades.com or www.scottsvalleyartcenter.com.

James Baker spent 30 years in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, working his way up from a teacher to superintendent. Over those three decades, the school district was faced with integrating bilingual education, a teacher strike, a year-round schedule, the devastation of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and many other trials and tribulations.

Coming across wildlife in Santa Cruz County isn’t an uncommon thing. A unique meeting of land and sea, the area is host to a number of species that often make themselves known to their human neighbors. But certain creatures are much easier to spot than others.

Twin Lakes Church recently announced the results of a two-month-long project in which members raised more than $286,000 for Second Harvest Food Bank, which is the equivalent of more than 1.1 million meals.

APTOS — Renovation work is moving forward on the Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center. Terramar Retail Centers, the company that owns and operates the center, began demolition work on Oct. 9. The construction work will be divided into three phases and should take about a year to complete, TRC announced Friday.

ew United Way of Santa Cruz County Executive Director Keisha Frost was a fifth-grader when the local United Way brought in Boy and Girl Scout programs to her community. The organization’s efforts proved to be a pivotal moment in her life. “I had a safe space and caring adults every day of school,” she said. When United Way helped establish a track-and-field program at Frost’s school, she found her passion. She was named the third-fastest hurdler in the state of California in high school, a career that peaked when she went to the 1996 Olympic Games.

Kiegan Lee spent the entirety of her time as an Aptos High School student involved with theater. She helped with sound design, served as a volunteer and held onstage roles, most notably as the female lead in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Lee, 18, is now studying theater sound design at University of Southern California, far from the place she grew up.