Local News

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...

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Heavy overnight and early-morning winds have sparked multiple fires across Santa Cruz County, Cal Fire CZU reported Tuesday morning. Firefighters reported several fires, including one off of Highway 9 in Boulder Creek, another near Empire Grade Road and Alba Road, a 20-acre fire...

On the Fourth of July, Scotts Valley will ring in Independence Day with fluttering American flags as floats carry patriots down the street in the return of the city’s annual parade, something that was almost unimaginable just a few months ago. “I think others are...

A decade after Scotts Valley was split in two by redistricting, that city could be “reunified” under a proposal introduced to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. The proposal is among several recommendations the board is considering as the county redraws its supervisorial...

Valley Churches United (VCU) has been assisting members of the San Lorenzo Valley community since 1985. From financial support to a plentiful food pantry, residents who have fallen on hard times have turned to VCU in times of trouble, finding respite in the nonprofit’s...

When Kira Lee Martin took to the microphone on the Scotts Valley High School football field to read Psalm 23 in memory of her nephew Carlton Keegan, who died in a fatal vehicle accident, she suggested the overcast conditions were appropriate. More than 400 people...

In a tense, two-and-a-half-hour board meeting on Feb. 4 that included more than 100 attendees, San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) broached the subject of a potential merger with Scotts Valley Water District (SVWD). The reaction from those who attended the Zoom meeting was anything...

The first heavy rains of 2021 moved into the Santa Cruz Mountains in late January, prompting Cal Fire and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office to release preemptive mandatory evacuation orders on Jan. 25 for parts of Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Felton and other...

After vaccinating roughly 4,500 teachers and staff, County Office of Education Superintendent Faris Sabbah, alongside 10 school district superintendents, announced on Feb. 25 to more than 700 attendees that public districts would begin full hybridization in March. “Throughout the pandemic students, parents and school personnel...

As Scotts Valley Kiwanis Club member Mike Rein arrived at the organization’s big fundraiser, held this year at Siltanen Park due to renovations at Skypark, he was nervous. “We were very worried because we’d never done it at Siltanen Park,” he said. “No one wants...