By Spring 2018, electricity consumers in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties likely will be using power that is at least 50 percent from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.

Scotts Valley City Councilman Dene Bustichi faces criminal charges of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident following his arrest the evening of Dec.8 after a minor traffic accident near the Scotts Valley Middle School.

The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County has announced that it has raised all the funds it needs to protect land on either side of Highway 17 for a wildlife tunnel. The final piece of funding was a $200,000 grant from the Coastal Conservancy to help purchase an easement on 170 acres west of the highway at Laurel Curve.

Like an old Andy Hardy movie, the Scotts Valley Community Theater Guild has rallied volunteers, identified experts and infrastructure materials and received substantial assistance from the city.

The former Aviza property near Scotts Valley’s Skypark appears to be nearly ready to receive a clean bill of health from environmental inspectors, after more than three decades of federal “Super Fund” cleanup activity.