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FireSafe Council completes latest HIZ home assessor training The FireSafe Council of Santa Cruz County has completed its latest HIZ home assessor training and has broadened its reach south to meet the greater needs and range of Santa Cruz County, from Boulder Creek and Summit...

The June 15 meeting of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District was called to a halt as soon as two ratepayers stood up to speak.Minutes later, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies were called.Director Margaret Bruce said on Facebook the next day that the deputies were called barely two minutes into the meeting because directors were concerned that some audience members might have felt threatened by speakers, and that order needed to be restored.There had been no shouting. No threats. No physical gestures, except the act of rising from a seat. Two people spoke – one for two minutes, one for five seconds – both former elected officials.The sheriff’s office later would not include the complaint in its daily summary of deputies’ activities. No one was arrested or issued a citation.The two audience members, Lois Henry and John Schneider, both former Lompico water board members whose comments prompted a sudden recess and a call to police shortly after the meeting began, left voluntarily about 10 minutes after deputies arrived.When the first deputy arrived, Schneider was specifically asked to leave by district General Manager Brian Lee, who told the deputy that Schneider had been “belligerent” in his five-second comment before the recess.Lee also said Schneider had “refused to follow directions.”One deputy stayed throughout the four-hour meeting. After the initial call, three other deputies in three cars arrived, then left about 10 minutes later, when things settled down.At one point, both Lee and Ratcliffe interrupted the deputy as he was explaining trespass law to the audience.Earlier in the day, a few miles up the road, some of these same deputies had been involved in a tense 20-hour standoff in connection with a stabbing and a family dispute, which ended with a peaceful arrest.Henry, former president of the Lompico water board, had stood up soon as four directors (Eric Hammer was absent) took their seats at 6:30 p.m.She was objecting to new “public comment” procedures that she said would restrict ratepayers’ comments at board meetings.The board on June 15 began limiting public comments on non-agenda items to a total of 15 minutes, giving preference to people who put their names, addresses and topics on “speaker’s slips.”The directors listened as Henry spoke. At the same time that President Gene Ratcliffe began to discuss the new “speaker’s slip” procedure, Schneider stood up: “ I would like to say also, that I would like to protest as well …”He was immediately interrupted by Ratcliffe, who said, “Excuse me. Out of order, Out of order.”She slammed her gavel. “We’ve got to call a recess. We are going to call a recess.”Then Ratcliffe and directors Margaret Bruce and Chuck Baughmann headed to a private meeting room, followed by staff members led by Lee.Before leaving the room, Lee told a stunned audience of about 15 people, “Staff will return with the board in five minutes,” and asked the videographer to turn off his camera.While they were in the private meeting room, someone called the sheriff.Director Bill Smallman did not follow his colleagues. He said later that he was concerned that other directors – a majority of the board – were violating California’s Ralph Brown Act by going into a private meeting room.About two minutes later Lee came out and told the audience “the Sheriff” had been called.The first sheriff’s deputy arrived about eight minutes after the recess had begun. The three-member board majority was still sequestered“Did you call me?” he asked Lee.  Lee, back in the meeting room, said, “Yes we did.”“They are obstructing public commentary,” Scheider told the deputy. “I am willing to leave, as long as they don’t restrict public comment.”Ratcliffe and the other directors returned after about five minutes, and announced:“Before anybody speaks, this is our meeting. And I am the chair.“I want to allow public comment,” she said.“The only problem with public comment here is that we did not even open the Oral Communications,before members of the public stood up, out of order, shouted down other potential speakers, shouted down the board.”“This speaker’s slip is a way to give everybody who wishes to address the board an equal opportunity.” 

The tax to raise money for public education sailed to success as nearly a third of Scotts Valley came out to cast a ballot, while a tax for a new fire hall hung in the balance. A total of 3,246 people voted (72.57%) in the...

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...

Kristin Ard, a longtime municipal worker who’s been battling cancer, is suing the City of Scotts Valley for disability discrimination. Known affectionately around town as “Kard,” she was at the helm of the Recreation Division since taking over from Conrad Sudduth in 2012. Back then, according...

Each January gives us a wealth of opportunities to improve ourselves. It’s a chance to resolve to become a better person, to treat others kinder, to take care of ourselves, to lose weight, stop smoking, to get our finances in order, to learn a new hobby, to read “Gone With the Wind,” or “War and Peace,” if you are inclined.

A pair of Ben Lomond restaurateurs are preparing to open a new bakery in the same building that recently housed Lacey Days Antiques, and a happening music venue in the 1970s.

Voters in Scotts Valley overwhelmingly voted Tuesday, Nov. 5 to approve Measure U, a temporary sales tax meant to preserve city services against the backdrop of a bleak budgetary crisis.