News

When Sydney Gorham was five years old, she started her first business, “Sydney’s Outdoor Chore Service.” The tiny entrepreneur waddled throughout her San Jose neighborhood with a bucket of cleaning supplies and a stack of handmade business cards in hand; Gorham went door-to-door and...

The signs draped on highway overpasses really do say it all:  “Thank you Firefighters”  “Thank you Cal Fire, Sheriff, Police, EMS.” The profound thanks and gratitude is from the heart and the feelings of appreciation are authentic and run deep.  I believe this outpouring reflects a realization that our homes and way of life in our city really did hang in the balance and our fortuitous escape from disaster made people reflect on their good fortune.

The Santa Cruz City Water Department (SCWD) is seeking to expand its rights to store, distribute and use the water it diverts from the San Lorenzo River. SCWD currently has exclusive rights to the river’s water, whereas the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD)...

Santa Cruz County is moving forward with a pilot program in a fire-thrashed area of the coast that would allow displaced residents to rebuild off-grid dwellings that otherwise wouldn’t be up to code. The Limited-Density Owner-Built Rural Dwellings plan slashes red tape for some...

When the Boulder Creek library reopens May 7, it will feature a completely revamped children’s area, community room updates and a new teen section. The stained-glass window will remain a showpiece, and there will be an art gallery as well as a pleasant reading...

Update (Oct. 23, 5pm) Residents in the northern reaches of the San Lorenzo Valley are being asked to evacuate at 8am Sunday in anticipation of heavy rains that could trigger debris flows near the CZU Lightning Complex burn scar. The evacuation orders include much of Brookdale...

Burglaries nearly doubled in 2020—overall, crime fluctuated heavily during the pandemic, Scotts Valley Police Department Chief Steve Walpole, Jr. told the city council in his annual presentation. The numbers have dropped since, and thankfully, there are still no homicides to report. “I’ve been really impressed...

As a relatively recent addition to Scotts Valley, I was quite taken aback to hear that the City of Scotts Valley has declared a fiscal emergency.  Despite many new developments and a seemingly prosperous community, Scotts Valley is on a dark, tight schedule.  By 2021, the city’s funds would drop below the two-month reserve level, by 2022 nothing would remain in the reserves and the city would enter debt. By 2023/2024 the deficit would reach 5.8 million dollars.  If Scotts Valley’s expenditures and revenue continue without adjustments, serious service cuts will be made throughout the city, especially to the SVPD.  

There are words that will define this generation of children who were raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains, impacted by Covid and chased from their homes by fire: Strong. Resilient. Tested. Driven. Those words also fit the 2021 San Lorenzo Valley High School boys’ basketball...