Business

From birthday parties to weddings to Jazzercise and Zumba, the Felton Community Hall has been a local place to host events and make memories. After 100 years as a neighborhood hub, members of its board of directors are looking for the community to help keep...

The TEDx Santa Cruz event on April 13 showcased remarkable stories under the theme, “Rising Together.” Among the speakers, Stephen Will Weir stood out with his profound insights into the detrimental effects of fast fashion on our planet. His speech enlightened and inspired action,...

In this final series, I speak with Jason Borgen, the Chief Technology Innovation Officer at the Santa Cruz Office of Education (SCCOE), and with two local businesses, BraLisa and The Gather Community.  In this concluding segment of our three-part series on AI in Small Town...

After consecutive break-ins, Spanky’s Café in Ben Lomond is now missing an ATM. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office confirmed deputies responded to a report of a burglary at an establishment along the 9500 block of Highway 9 on May 12. “An ATM was stolen from...

The Scotts Valley Planning Commission voted unanimously to allow a 16-unit condominium project “The Encore at 4104” to move forward at its Aug. 12 meeting. In an interview with the Press Banner, Commissioner Steve Horlock said he was pleased with the look of the 35-foot,...

At a time when residents of the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley are struggling with losses experienced in multiple crises, gifts of food or financial support can make all the difference to a local family. Enter Valley Churches United (VCU), a highly-regarded and essential...

Boulder Creek resident Lee Ross wanted a knife since he was 7 years old. His parents got him one after he turned 8. “I still have the stitch marks to show for it,” he says, wistfully, ruminating on the value of a good blade, following...

These days, everything is “smart.” Smartphones. Smartwatches. How about a smart laundromat? Behold The Mat in Boulder Creek, formerly the Village Wash. Run by third-generation laundromat owner Brandon Parker and his fiancé Erin Hexem, it’s the first smart laundromat in Boulder Creek, and one of...

A California energy regulator has become so vexed with troubled power provider PG&E following months of planned and unplanned outages it’s started to crackdown. In a Nov. 1 letter to Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Chair Bruce McPherson, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President...

Though a Jan. 12 webinar about federal Covid-relief funding for local businesses was short and to the point, Scotts Valley City Councilman Randy Johnson still found time to look back on the early days of the pandemic. “Does anyone remember spraying the mail that came...