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Aptos
April 27, 2024

Rocks Ranch property sold to Land Trust

Rocks ranch
A stretch of road alongside Highway 101 could soon be home to a tunnel complex turned wildlife crossing under the busy highway. The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County announced Sept. 9 that it has agreed to purchase the 2,640-acre Rocks Ranch in Aromas at...

CHP: DUI suspect struck Capitola police officer

CAPITOLA—A Santa Cruz man was arrested Saturday for felony DUI after allegedly striking a police officer riding a motorcycle, California Highway Patrol Officer Sam Courtney said. Kolton Matosich, 29, was charged with felony DUI. He was not in custody Monday morning, jail records showed. According to...

County supervisors move to streamline rebuilding process

czu august lightning complex fire
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday set the stage for a streamlined process for rebuilding the homes and other structures damaged in the CZU August Lightning Complex fire. The item was part of the consent agenda and therefore garnered no...

Gilroy man accused of ‘Boogaloo’ affiliation

Alan Viarengo
By Michael Moore, of the Morgan Hill Times SANTA CLARA COUNTY—Gilroy resident Alan Viarengo, who taught math at Gavilan College for nearly 20 years, was arrested last week on suspicion of stalking and threatening Santa Clara County’s public health officer, and police say he has...

CZU Complex now state’s 9th-most destructive fire ever recorded

CZU August Lightning Complex Fires
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,...

Central Coast, Bay Area fires have leveled more than 1,000 structures

CZU August Lightning Complex fires
Four major fires throughout the Central Coast and greater Bay Area have destroyed at least 1,055 structures, various Cal Fire agencies announced Saturday morning. The SCU Lightning Complex, the River Fire, the Carmel Fire and the CZU August Lightning Complex have chewed through 486,305 acres...

Covid-19, fires taxing service providers

Second Harvest Food Bank food distribution
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The CZU August Lightning Complex fires have so far destroyed more than 500 homes and forced 77,000 people to evacuate from their community. Those people have flooded evacuation centers throughout the county. That, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic that has upended the economy...

More than 700 structures destroyed by CZU Complex fire; now 24% contained

CZU August Lightning Complex fires
SCOTTS VALLEY—The level of containment in the CZU August Lightning Complex fires continues to increase, and so does the number of confirmed destroyed and damaged structures. The blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains has destroyed 746 structures and is still threatening more than 13,000 others...

Sheriff’s detectives arrest wallet thief

SCOTTS VALLEY—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s detectives on Wednesday arrested a Live Oak man suspected of using credit and bank cards stolen from a firefighter’s truck to make thousands of dollars in purchases. Brian Lee Johnson, 34, has been charged with using stolen credit cards, receiving...

Covid-19 economic restrictions expected to remain in place

Watsonville coronavirus
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The economic restrictions imposed on various Santa Cruz County businesses are not expected to be loosened this week, according to Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency spokeswoman Corinne Hyland. That’s despite the fact that the county will have spent its 14th day off...