The recreational attractions and environmental wonders of Santa Cruz County draw visitors from all over the world. Tourism in the county is a $1 billion industry with over 3 million visitors annually according to Visit Santa Cruz County and Visit California, nonprofit organizations that promote and develop tourism in the region. A large part of that economic impact reaches the Santa Cruz Mountains in the form of lodging, shopping, dining, events, entertainment and outdoor activities.

At approximately 3:45am on July 3, Chief 2300, Engine 2311 and Water Tender 2350 responded with Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, and CALFIRE to the area of Felton Quarry Road for a vehicle fire involving an RV, spreading to a storage unit.

A long-debated flight path shift from one part of the county to another is in design phase according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) representatives. The current path, called SERFR, has been in place since the FAA rolled out their NextGen initiative in March 2015. NextGen is a realignment of airspace that purports to increase safety and predictability, reduce fuel consumption, and supports anticipated increases in traveler capacity. The SERFR path carries 180+ airplanes each day, all funneled into a concentrated corridor. This increased concentration and frequency has caused discomfort for residents under the path in Santa Cruz County with complaints to the SFO Aircraft Noise Abatement Office tallying in the hundreds of thousands.

Disc golf players and fans have reason to celebrate with the opening of a new 9-hole course in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Boulder Creek Golf & Country Club's Redwood Run Disc Golf Course hosted a ribbon cutting with the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley Chambers of Commerce recently to commemorate the opening of the course. Event Manager Keira Mulder-Encinas said, "The course is in one of the most beautiful settings in the county for a disc golf course. Attendance has been great and lots of local golf people are raving about it." The idea for the course percolated after last year's Boulder Creek Blizzard Run Tournament hosted by Santa Cruz Disc Golf School on the back nine. Mulder-Encinas says it is what prompted the idea for a permanent course. "After hosting a few disc golf tournaments with temporary baskets, a decision was made to develop Redwood Run for the local disc golf scene,” she said. Redwood Run is a par 31 course featuring a par 5 hole over 940 feet which is unusually long. Players love it. Disc golf participation is picking up steam with renowned courses throughout the county including Black Mouse in Felton, DeLaveaga in Santa Cruz for more seasoned players, and Aptos and Harbor High School courses for beginners. Disc golf is played similarly to golf, but instead of clubs and balls, players use weighted plastic discs to hit a series of targets along a course. The player with the fewest number of throws is the winner. The course is open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. only $5 per player with an optional cart fee of $9. Visit www.bouldercreekgolf.com for more information.

I know, kids, I know. Summer can be a bummer, right? Sure, you get to sleep in, and you don’t have any homework, but let’s face it: day after day with nothing FUN to do can get boring, right? So, what can you do to make the most of your time away from school?

Felton resident Lew Farris was unanimously chosen as a new director by the San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board from a field of eight worthy applicants. Farris has worn several hats in his long career that lend well to serving as a board member. He formerly worked at Beckman Instruments in the Clinical Division, where he received guidance from skilled mentors. One mentor asked only that at some point in his life he give back and invest in someone else’s future. Lew says that working for the community, is exactly that. “I want to listen to what people say because the District serves the ratepayers,” Farris said. He values inclusivity and meets with members of the public regularly. He is interested in how water systems, society and human interactions work and feels that joint opinions make for better, well-rounded decisions. 

After years of community concern about safety along Highway 9 between SLV schools and Felton, culminating in 22-year-old Josh Howard’s death in a vehicle vs. pedestrian accident, progress is gradually taking form. The Highway 9 Corridor Plan is to be voted on by the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) on June 27 at Santa Cruz City Hall. Meanwhile, more than 1,400 community members have signed a petition urging the RTC to expedite safety improvements.

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The outdoor space at the Boys & Girls Club in Scotts Valley has a brand-new turf playfield thanks to a partnership between the San Francisco 49ers and Bothman Construction with funding from an NFL Foundation grant.

The brand new gym at Scotts Valley Middle School shook with 530 cheering students, stomping feet and the sounds of Latin music on May 15 as a surprised Aristeo Flores was crowned “2019 Custodian of the Year” by Cintas Corporation.