71.4 F
Aptos
September 2, 2026

Deputies arrest 5 suspected looters, as CZU Lightning Complex fires grow

CZU August Lightning Complex Fires
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Friday arrested five people suspected of looting evacuated homes on Fall Creek Drive, a small community in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Felton. Jose Gandarilla, Susana Luna, Crystal Araujo, Sara Loretz and Crystle Parstch-Lucchesi face numerous felony...

Photo Story: Cabrillo student housing taking shape

Work moves forward on the new Costa Vista Student Housing project at Cabrillo College in Aptos. The $181 million development will be the first student housing collaboration between a California community college and the University of California. The 257,000 square-foot project will span three...

Truck tears out power lines and pole

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.

UCSC fires 74 striking teaching assistants demanding higher wages

SANTA CRUZ—A graduate teaching assistant who worked at UC Santa Cruz until she was fired on Friday says that a protest for higher wages has grown since it started in December to include several more UC schools. Brenda Arjona, who is in her third-year seeking...

Capturing a wild moment

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.

Nominations sought for Trailblazers Awards

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

State apologizes to Japanese Americans for imprisonment

SACRAMENTO—Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation Thursday declaring Feb. 19, 2020, as A Day of Remembrance: Japanese American Evacuation in the State of California. Starting in 1942 roughly 120,000 Japanese Americans were rounded up and held at 10 “internment camps” during World War II over...

Rio Del Mar Beach footpath still blocked

The long-running fight over access to the Rio Del Mar beachfront walkway took a turn in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on April 24, as a judge granted a temporary injunction in favor of the homeowners who brought the case led by Christopher Weseloh,...

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...

Coastal Rail Trail in motion

The Coastal Rail Trail includes numerous projects that, together, will provide a 32-mile long separated bicycle/pedestrian path along the coast between Watsonville and Davenport. It is a part of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s (RTC) Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network Master Plan.