Santa Cruz County asks visitors to leave as fires spread down mountains
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Emergency Operations Center is requesting that all tourists and visitors occupying local overnight accommodations such as hotels, motels and vacation rentals leave immediately to free up shelter capacity.
Local shelters are near capacity. The Emergency Operations Center is working...
Aptos’ SeaBreeze Tavern burns in Sunday night blaze
By JAKE PIERCE, Good Times
APTOS—The site of the old Seabreeze Tavern caught fire Sunday night after 9pm, and the blaze quickly grew out of control.
Watsonville Fire Battalion Chief Corey Schaefer said units responded to a reported fire on the Esplanade in Aptos. When they...
Rocks Ranch property sold to Land Trust
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...
Deputies arrest 5 suspected looters, as CZU Lightning Complex fires grow
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...
PVUSD to lay off two dozen employees
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a proposal to lay off as many as 24 classified employees, a move district officials say was necessary due to declining enrollment.
Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez told the board that the district has lost...
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.
‘Major modifications’ coming to local summer programs, camps
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—When Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel revised her shelter-in-place order on May 1, she relaxed restrictions on summer programs such as daycare and day camp, allowing families to begin planning activities for their kids after months of restrictions.
The announcement came...
County’s young people invited to spend ‘Noon in the Park’
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Families across Santa Cruz County are invited to participate in Noon in the Park, a free, virtual program featuring community leaders singing, reading books and creating art.
Each day is different.
Kate Pavao and Aaron Lazenby, who run the Live Like Coco Foundation, will...
Supreme Court bans employment discrimination based on sexuality, gender identity
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Supreme Court made a historic ruling Monday, determining employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited under federal law.
The decision is the most significant victory for LGBTQ rights in the U.S. since the legalization of...
Leadership Santa Cruz County searching for new executive director
Following the retirement announcement of long-time Executive Director David Vincent, Leadership Santa Cruz County has begun its search for a new executive director.
