Local News

Santa Cruz resident Daniel Lamothe, a 38-year-old firefighting trainee and musician, has died after a mishap during a firefighter training program in the San Lorenzo Valley last Sunday. During the Feb. 19 session at the Ben Lomond Training Center, the volunteer became “medically distressed,” Santa...

APTOS—Cabrillo College’s governing board voted Monday to change the institution’s name after a two-hour discussion that included comments from dozens of community members. The trustees voted 6-1 in favor of renaming the college, with trustee Rachel Spencer dissenting.  The decision followed the Nov. 10 release of...

RTC hosts community session on ZEPRT project Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) will hold an informational community session on Monday, June 9, from 3:30-5pm to discuss the Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail (ZEPRT) project. The session will cover ridership projections, including expected...

Two people were killed when the car they were in collided with a commercial van yesterday, just before 5pm, according to the Scotts Valley Police Department. The crash occurred along Mount Hermon Road just past Skypark Drive toward Felton. The man driving the gold sedan and...

An educational consultant’s report has found diversity efforts at Scotts Valley Unified School District have been hampered by a “pervasive fear” of how parents would react to changes and the belief such initiatives would be “obstructed by vocal community disapproval and retaliation.” Key findings of...

In honor of the second anniversary of the CZU Lightning Complex, Mountain Community Theater (MCT) Director Peter Gelblum did something extraordinary to commemorate the event: he wrote a film about it.  Of the movie, entitled, “The CZU Fire In Their Own Words: Fighting Fires, Losing...

“This is a game changer,” Gov. Gavin Newsom exulted last week during a news conference. “We are very, very enthusiastic.” Was he talking about his recent coronavirus vaccination? The latest poll in the recall campaign? No, he was reveling in news from what has long been California’s sweet...

Chantal Vaughan was at work as a manager at Felton Feed & Pet Supply on May 23 when her world was shaken—figuratively and literally—by a driver who lost control of his car and careened into the front of her store, leaving shattered glass and...

In a business matter that’s highlighted a tussle between Planning Commissioners and County of Santa Cruz staff, the Commission has been handed a second chance to properly deny a cannabis cultivation operation proposal in Upper Zayante. Local residents are trying to stop it, arguing it...

Prescribed burn continues at Big Basin State Park California State Parks and allied agencies, including Cal Fire, began a prescribed burn on April 24 in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The 30-acre burn is occurring in the northern end of the park near Johansen and China...