Local News

By Todd Guild, Katie Evans and Christina Wise California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Dec. 30 released a plan under which schools could reopen as early as February. The plan, which streamlines the process of applying for a waiver to bring students back for in-person instruction, is...

Food Truck Friday concludes season with Halloween festivities Presented by Food Trucks A Go Go, in partnership with the Scotts Valley Educational Foundation (SVEF), the final Food Truck Friday of the year takes place on Oct. 24 from 4:30-7:30pm at Skypark, 261 Kings Village Road,...

At its most recent regularly-scheduled meeting, Scotts Valley City Council heard from a consultant that it didn’t do so well on the pavement condition index (PCI), with more than a third of its roads rating “poor” or “failed.” Scotts Valley has 32.1 miles of paved...

Updated draft BESS ordinance available for public review The County of Santa Cruz has released an updated draft ordinance regulating the siting and development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for public review, which will be considered by the Board of Supervisors at the Jan....

A 78-year-old Ben Lomond man died on April 7 after his vehicle went off the road and into Zayante Creek, authorities said. Don Daily was traveling southbound on Quail Hollow Road in a 2013 Kia Soul around 11am when it careened down a dirt embankment,...

San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) recently announced it has approved a contract for Brian Frus to be interim general manager, succeeding General Manager Rick Rogers, who retired in November after working for the District for 48 years. Frus, a registered civil engineer who lives...

County hosts forums to shape future behavioral health services Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health Services is hosting community forums to help shape the County’s First Behavioral Health Integrated Plan for 2026-29. Funded by the Behavioral Health Services Act, these forums aim to gather community input on...

The humming, buzzing and echoing inside the Boulder Creek facility that prepares drinking water for the San Lorenzo Valley makes one feel like they’re at an aquatic center. That the San Lorenzo Valley Water District uses a chlorine disinfection process (sodium hydrochloride)—alongside the tiny...

Planning for the two-day Scotts Valley Art, Wine & Beer Festival, scheduled for Aug. 16-17, was about to be derailed when discussions between the Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce and the City got back on track with the help of Councilmember Steve Clark, who...

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...