Local News

Nine months of late nights, countless repairs and more than 100 hours spent testing an underwater robot in a swimming pool paid off in a big way for a team of Santa Cruz County high school students. Hephaestus Robotics, a 21-member team representing eight county...

Final touches are underway at the Olive Garden Italian Kitchen restaurant, the first such location for the chain business in Santa Cruz County. General Manager Lisa Chiorello said the company, with more than 800 restaurants, is aiming to open Dec. 17.

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

The 75-year-old man who died when his home caught fire late Monday night in Capitola Village has been identified as Robert Edgren. Ashley Kheen of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office did not release the cause of death. Central Fire crews responded to the two-alarm fire...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Massage therapy, nail salons, tattoo parlors and other personal services can reopen in Santa Cruz County on Friday, the county announced Monday. The county said those businesses should follow state guidance released by the California Department of Public Health June 12 which requires...

A Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge ruled Monday that prosecutors have enough evidence for a trial in the case of a man who shot his girlfriend and stabbed her husband in a rural Aptos residence during an attack in late January.

Aptos resident Jennifer Schacher has withdrawn her candidacy for the Trustee Area 5 seat on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees. In an emailed statement, Schacher said family obligations contributed to her decision. “This was not an easy decision, but at this time,...

The Santa Cruz County Bank recently donated a gift package to Teen Kitchen Project. Photo contributed

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency announced that there are now 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus. The announcement comes less than two weeks after Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel announced the county’s first case on March 7. The increasing...

SCOTTS VALLEY—The level of containment in the CZU August Lightning Complex fires continues to increase, but so does the number of confirmed destroyed and damaged structures. Cal Fire officials at a Tuesday morning press conference said the blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains is now...