Local News

The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County has opened the nomination period for the 15th Annual Be the Difference Awards. The awards honor the individuals, groups, nonprofits and businesses that transform Santa Cruz County through volunteerism. People can share their stories of inspiration by nominating...

Helen Bieliaieva, 65, normally lives near the railway station in the center of Kyiv. But she’s been in Santa Cruz County visiting her Ukrainian friend Julia, 49, since October. “She cannot go back,” said Julia, who asked we don’t use her last name, out of fear...

The air’s a bit hazy and it smells like someone’s having a campfire. It’s 11:11am on March 8, and fire appears to snake along the underbrush, lapping at twigs, cascading upwards, alongside ponderosa pine trees. But there will be no hotdogs and marshmallows today. And this...

A 72-year-old Boulder Creek man died in a crash early Sunday when his vehicle went off the road along Highway 17, authorities said. Stephen Gardner was headed northbound around 12:50am, just south of El Rancho Drive, when he lost control of his 1999-era BMW, according...

SANTA CRUZ—The fate of Santa Cruz County’s rail line is now in the hands of the voters. The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-0 to place on the June 7 ballot an initiative which, if successful, would amend Santa Cruz County’s...

Scotts Valley City Council during its March 2 meeting voted unanimously to fund Independence Day festivities with $70,000 the City’s General Fund. But it technically won’t be a “Fourth of July” event, since they decided to have it on July 3, since vendors were already...

South Africa was not yet an international surf destination during Nicholas Whitehead’s childhood. Nevertheless, Whitehead, now 82, had an exciting life taking yearly trips to the ocean, working for the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation as a journalist in his home country, and for the...

A stalwart of local government in Scotts Valley is calling it a career this week. After more than three decades of service to the community, working under five city managers and 23 city council members, City Clerk Tracy Ferrara is retiring. “Tracy outlasted all other employees...

Santa Cruz County is seeing a decline in its cannabis industry, with tax revenues falling far short of projections for the 2021-22 fiscal year. County officials say that current revenues of $1.68 million are lagging behind projections by more than $1 million, and by $1.6...

Sometimes you just have to begin with the end in mind. That’s the message from local professionals who are helping residents prepare their affairs for life’s end. While this may not be the easiest subject to discuss around the family dinner table, making sure legal and...