Local News

ZAYANTE—After more than 27 years of service to the Zayante Fire Protection District, John Stipes hung up his white helmet for the final time on July 23.  Stipes, 59, joined Zayante Fire in 1994 as a volunteer firefighter. He retires with the longest current tenure...

The community of Bonny Doon sits perched atop Ben Lomond Mountain, in the Coast Range. Thanks to its proximity to Monterey Bay, the area is a rich, fertile place to grow a variety of vegetables and fruit, but there’s one category of produce that...

Just as Bay Area gasoline prices have finally dipped below the $4 a gallon line at select stations, after rising above $7 a gallon at some pumps this summer, home-heating costs are rising. However, as the icy breath of winter nips at the necks of...

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office detectives are looking for a suspect who fatally shot a victim in Boulder Creek Saturday night during a party. According to the Sheriff’s office, deputies headed to the 1000 block of Brimblecom Road at about 10pm, responding to multiple reports...

In the grand tradition of senior year events, San Lorenzo Valley High School and its sister school, Coast Redwood, are returning to their roots with an in-person grad night celebration. The time, effort and costs required to pull off a successful event for graduating seniors...

With the donation of a conservation easement from private landowners to Sempervirens Fund, California’s first land trust, 120 acres in the Upper Zayante watershed will be protected in perpetuity. The land includes more than 67 acres of redwood forest, mostly second-growth trees with some residual...

The music rises, and the worn, bare wooden floor is suddenly barraged with dancers in leotards, tights and leg warmers. Their skirts twirl and lift as they spin and leap across the studio, their reflections bright and ephemeral in the mirror. With a quick...

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...

Students throughout Santa Cruz County will no longer be required to wear masks while at school after March 11. The announcement, signed by the County’s 11 school superintendents, came Monday after California Gov. Gavin Newsom, along with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay...

After parents advocated for full-day kindergarten at consecutive school board meetings, the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District said it was willing to explore the idea. Dylan Fetzer, a Ben Lomond resident who has a boy entering transitional kindergarten (TK) next year, says it’s something...