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Aptos
July 18, 2026

Countryside arts festival starts up

A countywide celebration of visual and performing arts kicked off Thursday and will run through April 26.  The Ripple Effect Santa Cruz County Arts Festival is the County’s effort to highlight the creative community during California’s Arts, Culture and Creativity Month.  Organizers said the event brings...

Carrillo pleads guilty to Gutzwiller killing

Steven Carrillo
SANTA CRUZ—The man who shot a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s sergeant to death—days after killing a federal building security guard in Oakland during a crime spree two years ago—pleaded guilty Monday to the local charges. Steven Carrillo, 33, a former U.S. Air Force sergeant, will...

DA will not file charges in Cabrillo threats case

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office will not file charges against an Aromas man who reportedly made threats against someone at Cabrillo College.

Emergency repairs for county roads granted extensions

The Federal Highway Administration agreed to reinstate time extensions allowing dozens of emergency winter storm road repair projects in the unincorporated parts of the county to move forward.  This time extensions mean projects will remain eligible to receive federal emergency relief funds previously committed to...

County officials open new Aptos Public Safety Center

APTOS — The sprawling Aptos Village Project got its newest neighbor on May 20 when Santa Cruz County officials officially opened the Aptos Public Safety Center.

Photo Story: Cabrillo student housing taking shape

Work moves forward on the new Costa Vista Student Housing project at Cabrillo College in Aptos. The $181 million development will be the first student housing collaboration between a California community college and the University of California. The 257,000 square-foot project will span three...

County moves to oppose all sexual predator placements

Santa Cruz County predator
After a significant portion of the Bonny Doon community mobilized to try to keep a man who raped a 21-year-old woman in the 1980s from moving to town, Santa Cruz County is now seeking changes to California law, so it can have additional tools...

PVUSD Trustees grapple with possible school closures, grim budget outlook

Pajaro Valley Unified School District teachers often dread the week of March 15, the state’s deadline to issue layoff notices or “pink-slips” to workers across the district.  These notices are preliminary warnings, and don’t always guarantee an official termination of employment. But in past years,...

Historic Aptos building faces uncertain future after Sunday night fire

Aptos SeaBreeze fire
RIO DEL MAR—A fire that apparently started in a pile of rubble in an alleyway behind the SeaBreeze Tavern late Sunday night has destroyed the building, bringing to a close a story that began when it was built 92 years ago in what was...

CZU Complex fires have destroyed more than 300 structures; now 17% contained

czu august lightning complex fire
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...