Local News

The 2023 State of the Workforce report by the Santa Cruz County Workforce Development Board (WDB) shows that the local economy is experiencing a robust recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, recovering faster than the state and the rest of the country. Overall,...

After a bit of a snag in the legislative process, Congress approved a $1.4 million allocation to replace a Scotts Valley childcare facility that’s in such bad shape it’s a danger zone. Scotts Valley Vice Mayor Jim Reed remembers the time his own child was...

At least 46 homes in the San Lorenzo Valley area were more than 50% destroyed by the recent wave of storms, according to a preliminary survey completed by Boulder Creek nonprofit Coongie, which says the number of homes could be as high as 65. Their...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors took the first step in updating the county’s climate action strategy, a response to global warming and its effects on infrastructure and the people who live here. Updating the County’s Climate Action Plan—first adopted in 2013—is...

Anna Paganelli, now 54, was house-sitting for a friend at a cabin in Boulder Creek—where she also used to live—as she struggled with one of the most traumatic situations of her life. The umbilical cord of one of the twin girls growing inside her...

The candidate nomination period for the upcoming Nov. 8 election opened on July 18, and several potential political candidates have pulled papers to run for various offices. The Scotts Valley City Council will have two seats—those currently held by Vice-Mayor Jim Reed and City Councilman...

Just 26 miles away as the crow flies, enrollment has dropped 76% at the Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto; but here in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District has seen a much more modest decline. Nevertheless, trustees...

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...

A 76-year-old Davenport pedestrian was killed Dec. 16 after she was struck by a fellow community member’s vehicle at Swanton Road, just east of Pacific Coast Highway. The incident occurred around 3pm as a 77-year-old male driver, also from Davenport, was reversing a 2002 Ford...

At the Dec. 15 San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District meeting, trustees had a private discussion with Superintendent Christopher Schiermeyer about his job performance, just weeks after parents say he berated students in an elementary school classroom for misbehaving. After the public meeting started—17 minutes...