Local News

Plans to potentially put a bicycle track in Felton Covered Bridge County Park—which would replace an aging and unused volleyball court—has stirred a modicum of controversy in the small community, with supporters saying it would give a new recreation opportunity for young people.   Opponents, meanwhile,...

Santa Cruz County has reduced homelessness among families by 59% compared to 2019, even as overall homelessness in the county increased by 6%.  That’s according to preliminary results of the county’s biannual Point-In-Time (PIT) count released Aug. 5 by the Housing for Health Partnership. Santa Cruz...

About 2,000 San Lorenzo Valley community members will now have access to care close to home, thanks to a new health clinic that opened at the site of a Ben Lomond historic church on Jan. 24. Where the Wee Kirk Church once welcomed parishioners to...

California State Parks has released its recovery plan for Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the oldest one in California. Nearly five years on from the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, which torched over 90% of the park and destroyed more than 900 homes in the area,...

Simmering tensions between the City of Scotts Valley and youth sports leagues over proposed fees hikes boiled over during the April 2 regularly scheduled Council meeting when a girls softball coach teared-up providing public comment. Alexandra Sklar, co-director of Scotts Valley Trouble Fastpitch and board...

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...

Updated draft BESS ordinance available for public review The County of Santa Cruz has released an updated draft ordinance regulating the siting and development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for public review, which will be considered by the Board of Supervisors at the Jan....

The city of Scotts Valley took a step forward in renovating a key community corridor—a thoroughfare that runs above Highway 17. In a special meeting on Sept. 29, the Scotts Valley City Council voted unanimously to seek grant funds via the Santa Cruz County Regional...

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...

A local resident who contends he’s been overcharged for water service for several years says he’s now willing to accept Scott Valley Water District’s offer of three years of back pay. Now David McNair, who took over as SVWD’s general manager Nov. 1, says while...