News

Bonny Doon hosts Wildfire Preparedness Fair this Saturday Supervisor Justin Cummings and the Bonny Doon Fire Safe Council will host a Community Fire Preparedness and Resilience Fair on May 30 at Martin Fire Station in Bonny Doon. The free, family-friendly event is scheduled from 10am-2pm...

Travelers on Highway 9 will encounter daytime and overnight one-way reversing traffic control Tuesday through Friday at multiple locations during the week of May 26, as several construction projects continue in the San Lorenzo Valley. The work is part of multiple ongoing Caltrans projects north...

Santa Cruz tourism sees 1.6% increase in visitor spending Visit Santa Cruz County (VSCC) has announced that the local tourism industry grew by more than one-and-a-half percent in 2025. According to a Dean Runyan Associates report released by Visit California, visitor spending reached $1.401 billion in...

This week, Scotts Valley City Council was set to give direction on more than $9 million in capital spending for fiscal year 2026-27, which was supported by the Planning Commission on May 14. The total amount of $9,426,650 includes $8,536,150 in “major capital projects” (related...

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta is calling for federal oversight of the U.S. Postal Service over prolonged closures and delays affecting the Brookdale and Almaden Valley post offices following separate fires. In a May 19 letter sent from Washington, D.C., Panetta asked the Office of Inspector...

He was the sort of guy who could paint a sandwich board with a creative flair. He went by the moniker “Oakengard” and was deep into Dungeons and Dragons. But according to the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office, Ciriaco Johnson was not just someone...

California State Parks, in partnership with Cal Fire, is planning prescribed burns at the Sandhills area of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park as part of a long-term effort to reduce wildfire risk and maintain a rare coastal habitat. The planned 8-acre burn in the Bonny...

Fresh in the permanent police chief role as of March, Jayson Rutherford gave his first yearly update to Scotts Valley City Council, which includes two former cops, at its April 15 meeting. Scotts Valley Police Department responded to 5,581 calls for service in 2025. And,...

SLV Water District continues spring main flushing San Lorenzo Valley Water District is continuing its annual water main flushing program through May 21 to remove iron and manganese deposits from the distribution system. The naturally occurring minerals are not a health risk, but buildup in water...

Final paving work on a 3.6-mile stretch of Graham Hill Road is scheduled to begin Monday as part of the Santa Cruz Water Department’s Newell Creek Pipeline Replacement Project. The work will take place between Roaring Camp Road and Henry Cowell Drive from May 11-22...