News

APTOS—Since Caroline’s Nonprofit Thrift Shop opened its doors in 2010, owner Christy Licker has given tens of thousands of dollars to local organizations that support children. In 2017, Licker handed out $275,000 to 26 organizations, which at the time was a record-breaking amount for the...

Allison created P.I.N.K. Backpack, a series of digital handbooks aimed to teach girls ages 8-10 and their parents about gender equality. The handbooks cover everything from responding to gender bias to understanding consent.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Deep cleaning is now routine at Santa Cruz METRO to not only keep their fleet on the road, but to assure riders that busses are squeaky clean. Every day since early March, before the first person in Santa Cruz County was diagnosed with...

A house was fully engulfed in flames at 1250 Valencia School Road in Aptos Sunday evening. The blaze, which was first reported at around 6:45 p.m., ended up burning the structure flat to the ground. No injuries were reported. The family of five that lived at the home were reportedly not in the area at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire in still under investigation.

SANTA CRUZ — A Santa Cruz County Jail inmate was recaptured Monday during an attempted escape on a visit to Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dee Baldwin said.

According to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dee Baldwin, about 90 inmates began refusing their jail-provided meals on May 5 to protest a handful of issues such as a lack of warm clothing options, television programming and prices in the commissary.

CAPITOLA — The third annual Santa Cruz County History Fair unfolded in Jade Street Park at the Capitola Community Center on May 18. Twenty-two organizations had displays at the free event that was hosted by the Capitola Historical Museum, said Board President Niels Kisling.

The World’s Shortest Parade in Aptos lived up to its standard of drawing thousands of people, from babies to seniors, to the street — many with their dogs in tow — for a view of the action. From Little League baseball teams and realty groups, to fire engines, elected officials and modern dance troupes, the parade sent 102 different groups along Soquel Drive under cloudy skies. With nine California Highway Patrol officers lending a hand in traffic control and in shutting down a short section of Soquel Drive, the festive event proved to have a greater showing of entries than any mid-week Fourth of July parade, said Karen Hibble, co-executive director of the Aptos Chamber of Commerce.

APTOS—Nonprofit workers in Santa Cruz County are two times more likely than the general public to require the very social services they help provide. That’s according to a recent survey conducted by the Human Care Alliance (HCA), a coalition of nonprofit agencies from around the...

When news breaks, rest assured that 10-year-old kid reporter Ella Porter is on the story. Ella is one of 45 young journalists from 10 countries who were recently chosen to write for the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps.