Californians Supporting Ukraine

As another year zips by, Edible Monterey Bay has your back, offering a tasty way to mark its passing. Sample the Best New Openings of the Year, from Salinas to the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Erika Ziegenhorn has been ceremonially sworn in as the newest Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge, marking Gov. Gavin Newsom's fourth such local judicial appointment this year.

Things are heating up as candidates eye three seats on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Farm owner and U.S. Air Force veteran David Schwartz hopes to represent the 2nd District, running from Aptos to the Pajaro River basin.

In its final meeting of the year, the Capitola City Council took steps toward improved traffic safety, including installation of six LED flashing lights and re-striping at the Bay Avenue and Hill Street intersection.

Judge Syda Cogliati has been elected by the bench to serve as the presiding judge and Judge Jerry Vinluan has been elected to serve as assistant presiding judge, according to a release from the Superior Court of Santa Cruz County.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission has found a new leader: former California Transportation Commission Executive Director Mitch Weiss will temporarily takes over for Guy Preston while it continues its search for a permanent replacement.

With fellow classmates, Iman Moshari collects underused bikes, repairs them and give them to people who apply.

Sea Harvest, the family-owned fishing outfit with boats on the water and a constellation of market-restaurants on shore, has a new market that just opened in Moss Landing.

An effort spearheaded by the Newsom administration and congressional leaders resulted in Congress authorizing and accelerating the transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard to CalFire, expanding California’s firefighting fleet.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

Google has agreed to pay $700 million and will make changes to its app store it has resisted for years in order to resolve a lawsuit over whether its app store is an illegal monopoly.

The fentanyl epidemic has pushed San Francisco to a grim milestone: a new record for overdoses. A total 752 people overdosed in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing 2020’s record number of 726.

Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his work and that of current or former California leaders like Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris during an appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Newsom suggested conservatives focus unduly on California's failures.

Higher-income workers are more likely to work from home, analysis of recent census data shows. Lower-income workers can face long and solitary commutes to get to work.

Three restaurants in San Francisco, three in Los Angeles and one in San Diego have been added to the Michelin Guide. Two of the SF eateries also made Esquire’s list for best new American restaurants in 2023.

A new select committee in the California Assembly dedicated to retail theft will hold its first hearing on Dec. 19. This allows the committee to get to work before the next legislative session on an issue that’s drawn much press for California in recent years.

By declining to hear a conservative group’s challenge, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a California ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth. California is one of 22 states to ban this practice.

An estimated 100,000 pizza boxes have been removed from Yosemite’s waste stream. This is because the famed park now serves pizza on trays and puts to-go portions in compostable bags, part of a move to reduce food-related waste.