News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County will dip into its budgetary reserves to cover an estimated $20 million deficit in this year’s budget, which stems from revenue losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the request by County Administrative Officer Carlos...

Kiegan Lee spent the entirety of her time as an Aptos High School student involved with theater. She helped with sound design, served as a volunteer and held onstage roles, most notably as the female lead in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Lee, 18, is now studying theater sound design at University of Southern California, far from the place she grew up.

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...

APTOS—Cabrillo College students will return to in-person instruction when classes resume in the fall, spokeswoman Kristin Fabos announced Tuesday. According to Fabos, more than 50% of course offerings feature face-to-face or hybrid instruction during the fall term, which begins Aug. 16. The college will continue...

Construction work is marching ahead on the new Capitola Branch Library at the corner of Clares Street and Wharf Road. After the previous library was demolished at the start of the year, the new structure is moving skyward.

SANTA CRUZ—An unsanctioned homeless camp in Santa Cruz has reopened, this time with a new name, increased security and a set of rules designed to reduce crime and drug use. The so-called Ross Survival Camp at River Street and Highway 1 was opened on Monday...

A man suspected of stabbing two people in Santa Cruz’s downtown corridor Friday night was arrested Tuesday at a Santa Cruz residence.

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.

Please join us on Dec. 1 for our Holiday Tree Lighting at the Redwood Tree next to the entrance to Aptos Village Park. This will be our 25th year of celebrating the lighting with the children and adults in our community. Santa will arrive by fire truck, there will be lots of music and dancing, and games for the young and young at heart.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Tuesday revised her shelter-in-place order to align most of the county’s restrictions with that of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order. The new county order will open places of worship, in-store retail, outdoor museums and limited...