Local News

Learning about the dangers of surveillance technology can be empowering, the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury writes in the introduction to the new report they published June 20. Its latest 20-page look at spy tech and data collection at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s...

In a sleepy town like Scotts Valley, it’s par for the course that year-to-year crime percentages swing wildly. If no robberies happen one year, and then four go down the next (as was the case between 2023 and 2024), you don’t want to read too...

A woman who owns a holistic horse-riding business in Felton has launched a nonprofit to spread the joy of horsemanship to people who don’t normally have access to equines. Kristin Praly established Horse Sense Education and Advocacy as a 501(c)3 charity earlier this year and...

Firefighters throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains were blanketed in surprise on June 29 when three women showed up with a number of free, hand-made quilts. Almost 80 firefighters from the Boulder Creek, Felton, Zayante and Ben Lomond fire protection districts received the gifts, which were...

Santa Cruz shelters unite for first California Adopt-a-Pet Day Santa Cruz SPCA and the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter will join over 150 California shelters in the state’s first ever Adopt-a-Pet Day on Saturday, June 1. On this day, from 11am-6pm, both local shelters will provide...

At its May 15 meeting, Scotts Valley City Council forged ahead with wastewater system improvements, selecting Cushman Contracting in a $1.3 million deal to install a new aeration blower, piping, valves and other instruments at the Scotts Valley Water Reclamation Facility. The upgrades, meant to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Health officials from eight Bay Area counties on Monday issued a set of guidelines created to keep families safe from Covid-19 during the holidays. The recommendations cover travel and gatherings. The health officers from the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco,...

A fire that grew to a half-acre in the Santa Cruz Mountains was extinguished quickly Friday morning before it could threaten the nearby communities of Boulder Creek and Brookdale, authorities said. The fire broke out before 6:30am, said Ben Lomond Fire Protection District Chief Stacie...

By Juan Reyes, Staff Reporter The Scotts Valley High football team on March 11 shut out St. Francis High, 12-0, at Santa Cruz High School in the county’s first football game of the 2021 pandemic-impacted season. Scotts Valley coach Louie Walters, who had previously retired at...

A 45-year-old man died early Sunday morning when his vehicle careened off of Graham Hill Road near Felton and smashed onto a tree. California Highway Patrol Officer Israel Murillo said the man, who has not been named, was driving a 2009 Nissan Altima north on...