News Briefs | Published Jan. 17, 2025
Coastal trail projects receive federal investment
Rep. Jimmy Panetta announced a new federal investment in coastal trail projects in California’s 19th Congressional District. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $19.5 million to the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) to support the segments of...
Final paving, striping on Highway 9 continues this week
A major maintenance paving project continues on Highway 9 between El Solyo Heights Drive in Felton and California Drive in Ben Lomond.
Travelers on Highway 9 between Felton and Ben Lomond will encounter one-way reversing traffic control on Thursday, Jan. 9, and Friday, Jan. 10,...
Felton meeting to discuss Highway 9 preventative maintenance project
Caltrans will host a public meeting next week in Felton to hear project details and provide input regarding the upcoming South Santa Cruz Highway 9 capital preventative maintenance project.
The meeting will take place Wednesday, Jan. 15, from 5-7pm at the Felton Community Hall, 6191...
New California laws take effect in 2025
California lawmakers in 2024 introduced 4,821 bills, but most of them were tossed or otherwise rejected during the months-long legislative process, during which most never saw the light of day. Just 1,206 made it to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, with 1,017 getting signed into...
Santa Cruz County launches year-round Mobile Crisis Response Teams
Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health has announced that Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT) are now available 24/7 year-round to respond to behavioral health crises for youth and adults across Santa Cruz County, including the cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Capitola and all...
5 injured in Scotts Valley’s first tornado on record
*Updated at 6:59pm Dec. 14, 2024
At least five people were injured in Scotts Valley's first-ever tornado on record, authorities said.
Capt. Jayson Rutherford, of the Scotts Valley Police Department, said six cars were overturned and another 10 or so were damaged by the twister.
"Looking at...
3 hospitalized in Brookdale post office building blaze
A man and two children were hospitalized after a fire spread through a second story residential area above the Brookdale Post Office in the early hours of Friday the 13th.
Jon Bowles, 52, said he was in his downstairs unit when he heard a rumbling...
Invasive beetle found along Zayante Creek identified as novel to West Coast
A non-native invasive shothole borer beetle found along Zayante Creek south of Graham Hill Road in October has been identified as Euwallacea interjectus, a beetle originating from Southeast Asia.
Prior U.S.-based identifications of Euwallacea interjectus have been restricted to states in the Southeastern part of...
Scotts Valley Unified School District’s financial review shows surprise revenue gains
Back when Scotts Valley Unified School District officials were charting a course for the 2023-24 school year, they figured they’d bring in $26.2 million in revenue and spend $21.3 million.
But when their financial minds recently broke down what actually happened, they discovered inflows had...
Man charged with trafficking minors asks to spend holidays with 4-year-old
The man charged with human trafficking and molesting children he met through the Boys and Girls Club in Scotts Valley asked a Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge if he could spend time over the holidays with his 4-year-old nephew.
But, according to a minute...
Cabrillo College notifies students of security incident
In an abundance of caution, the Cabrillo Community College District has notified students of a recent data privacy incident.
On May 14, 2024, Cabrillo...
