Local News

The San Lorenzo Valley is a notch in the Santa Cruz Mountains made up of several small towns: Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Ben Lomond and Felton. While each has its own volunteer fire department ​​(Brookdale is covered by Boulder Creek and backed up by Ben...

Living in a tight-knit community like the San Lorenzo Valley has its advantages. When a neighbor needs assistance or a business is in trouble, locals rally to help. And when hundreds of residents lose their homes in a devastating wildfire and are in desperate...

FELTON—Dave Poetzinger, who has spent the past 28 years as a coach at San Lorenzo Valley High School, has put on the headset for the final time. The Cougars’ lead man coached his final game on April 17 against Harbor High. His student-athletes gave him...

The Scotts Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees approved a two-year $13,200 contract with a Phoenix, Ariz.-based company for inclusivity training services.  Inclusion Counts, LLC will provide a series of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) sessions between November 2021 and June 2022, including conducting...

Organizers for the Santa Cruz County Fair say they are preparing for a complete in-person return of the annual event in September. Carnival rides, livestock shows, floriculture, arts and crafts, the Agricultural History Project, food booths, the pumpkin contest and the apple pie contest—they’re all...

A project to replace a deteriorating culvert under Highway 17 at a location 1.5 miles north of Scotts Valley will result in overnight lane closures. Starting Sunday, June 9, travelers on Highway 17 near Vine Hill Road will encounter the intermittent closure of one lane...

Even as his life slipped away, Ben Lomond native Alex Fritch gave his wife Terra one final gift: A goodbye. “It’s the biggest gift,” she told the Press Banner, describing how they got to embrace in the hospital. “He grabbed my hand. He cried. And...

As polls closed tonight, Fifth District Supervisor candidate Monica Martinez was hanging out on the second floor of Bruno’s Bar and Grill in Scotts Valley with a sizable contingent that included multiple other candidates for political office. “We just had so many community members come...

SCOTTS VALLEY—Scotts Valley elected officials listened with rapt attention as influential urban planner Bob Gibbs gave them “a really short version of my Harvard class,” during a study session before the June 2 City Council meeting. As he pulled the cover back on what...

Santa Cruz County’s adjusted case rate recently fell below the state’s threshold (28 per 100,000 per day) needed to reopen in-class instruction for grades K-6, health officials announced at a press conference on Feb. 4. That means local school districts could start applying to the...