Local News

Volunteers and families gathered, socially distant, at the end of October to disperse quilts to survivors of the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire.  The Quilt Drive, formed by members of the Pajaro Valley Quilt Association (PVQA), came together in a little less than a month,...

Local churches plan Community Good Friday Service St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church has announced a Community Good Friday Service, co-sponsored by six San Lorenzo Valley congregations, on Friday, March 29. The service, which will focus on forgiveness and mercy as much-needed graces and experiences in these challenging...

Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office has released the 2024 Crop Report, announcing that the estimated gross production value of local agricultural commodities reached nearly $742 million, an increase of 13.3% over 2023. Strawberries remain the top crop in Santa Cruz County, accounting for $218.9...

Maybe the “sense of abandonment” felt by locals due to Sutter Health’s move to nix its Scotts Valley urgent care site wouldn’t be so profound had officials included the community in its decision-making? It was one of many questions and pointed suggestions shared during a...

Burglaries nearly doubled in 2020—overall, crime fluctuated heavily during the pandemic, Scotts Valley Police Department Chief Steve Walpole, Jr. told the city council in his annual presentation. The numbers have dropped since, and thankfully, there are still no homicides to report. “I’ve been really impressed...

SAN FRANCISCO—The man accused of shooting and killing a federal officer in Oakland two years ago—and wounding a second officer—is scheduled to plead guilty to the charges Friday in Northern District Court in San Francisco, court documents show. Steven Carrillo, a former U.S. Air Force...

Pacific Gas and Electric Company is moving into the next phase of wildfire clean-up efforts—clearing out thick tree trunks it chopped down previously. According to Santa Cruz County’s Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience, the electricity provider is taking action in the wake of a...

The Scotts Valley City Council has approved $6,000 for a tree lighting at the Walgreens parking lot in the King's Village Shopping Center next month. Traditionally the event has been funded by the Scotts Valley Parks & Recreation Advocates nonprofit, but that organization is currently...

As Tanya Krause, the superintendent of Scotts Valley Unified School District, prepared her welcome letter for parents, she began how she might have in any other year: “We are pleased and excited to start school with students on campus, Wednesday, August 11, for full-time,...

There are dream jobs, and then there are DREAM JOBS. Racing Formula 1 cars? Check. Playing for the NBA? Check. Stylist to the stars? Check. Head of marketing for Humble Sea Brewery? Check, if you’re Lee DeGraw.  Although she’s been driving the brand’s marketing for...