Local News

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...

Santa Cruz resident Daniel Lamothe, a 38-year-old firefighting trainee, has died after a mishap during a firefighter training program in the San Lorenzo Valley over the weekend, according to authorities. At a session on Sunday at the Ben Lomond Training Center, the volunteer became "medically...

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...

During the regularly scheduled March 15 council meeting, Scotts Valley began the challenging journey toward deciding how to plan for 1,220 new housing units in the upcoming Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle. Taylor Bateman, Scotts Valley’s community development director, introduced the item, noting Kimley-Horn and...

The County of Santa Cruz has released its 2023-24 Proposed Budget and interactive website, giving residents unprecedented digital access to County spending and revenue forecasts, line-item details and insight into how the budget connects to ongoing strategic priorities. The $1.1 billion Proposed Budget includes a...

Highway 9 at Jaye’s Slide in Ben Lomond reopened June 22 following installation of a culvert across the entire width of the roadway at an area that was damaged during winter storms. Jaye’s Slide is located on Highway 9 in Ben Lomond, near Park Way...

By their own admission, 18-year-old Marina Ruiz felt pretty “lost” during freshman and junior years. “I didn’t really have an idea of who I was as a person,” Ruiz said. “I wasn’t really confident as a student. I kind of sold myself short.” But now, as...

Cabrillo College has announced the introduction of its inaugural Wine Studies Associate in Science (A.S.) degree, officially approved in October.  The degree, set to debut in the 2024-25 Course Catalog, will take effect beginning in the fall of 2024. This milestone initiative underscores Cabrillo’s commitment...

As Enns brothers Andrew, 18, and Gabriel, 21, neared their Scotts Valley home around midnight on June 25—after heading up to Sacramento to celebrate their grandmother’s 75th birthday—they saw a car swerve off the road in front of them. “This vehicle traveling southbound on (Highway)...

Monte Sereno has voted to appoint Kirsten Powell, Scotts Valley’s top legal official, as its new city attorney. The new post in Silicon Valley, however, doesn’t mean she’s quitting her gig with the Santa Cruz County municipality. On June 6, Monte Sereno City Council voted unanimously...