Santa Cruz County Local News

Nate Bradley and his dog, Raider, stand outside a store in Capitola. An off-leash dog area could be added to Noble Gulch Park. (Tyler Maldonado — Santa Cruz Local)
CAPITOLA >> The Capitola City Council on Thursday advanced a plan to turn most of Noble Gulch Park into a fenced, off-leash dog area with drinking water stations. The council told city staff to develop a potential site plan and budget. 
The council also discussed changes to dog leash rules, including whether to adopt a 60-day off-leash trial period at either Monterey or Jade Street park. Nearby sports programs, schools and children’s play areas made those places less attractive for temporary or permanent off-leash areas.

Residents of a Watsonville neighborhood are pushing back against a proposed housing project meant to help homeless people staying along the Pajaro River levee. They say that local officials have ignored their concerns over crime and safety and are moving ahead without addressing complaints connected to the encampment.

Four years after she left the Watsonville City Council, having served the maximum two terms, Trina Coffman-Gomez is again running for the District 6 seat.

Watsonville city officials on Monday began clearing a sprawling unsanctioned homeless encampment along the Pajaro River that runs from Sakata Lane to Loughead Avenue.

On Aug. 14, about 400 students will return to Pajaro Middle School, more than a year after flood waters forced the campus to close. This includes seventh-graders who spent their first middle school year at a different school.

A Santa Cruz man has been arrested on suspicion of drugging a woman at a local bar.

Scotts Valley’s Santa Cruz Derby Groms female division team, the Gromshells, claimed their second consecutive Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA) National Championship on July 13-14 in Palatine, Ill.

“I am thankful for small mercies. Some people expect only the best. I found that I begin at the other extreme…expecting nothing and am always full of thanks for unexpected blessings.” —Tim Man Lee, Wildlife Photographer

Mark Livingston, 68, remembers how, a couple years back, a cat showed up at his rustic Felton house in the thick of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

How has the attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump’s life affected delegates at this convention?
Chris Krohn and Isabel O’Malley-Krohn confront several Republican delegates to talk to about how the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 14th in Butler, Pennsylvania, changed the tone and tenor within this GOP convention? Three of these delegates– the first one is Mike from Portland, Tx. then Kathy from Orange County, Ca. and Cynthia from L.A. County—offer their analysis and it’s steeped in God and political conspiracies. Then, Christina Bellantoni, the Director of the Media Center and the Professor of professional practice at the USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism offers her learned opinions on the electoral college and the selection of RNC delegates. Bodie Shargel and Joe Thompson are the studio hosts.

Santa Cruz City Schools has three school board seats on the Nov. 5 ballot. (Jesse Kathan — Santa Cruz Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> School board trustees play key roles in local government, helping ensure that school districts adhere to the values and priorities of their communities. 
But when Santa Cruz County voters last chose school board candidates in November 2022, voters didn’t have a choice for many school board seats. Twenty-six of 38 races were uncontested.

Practicing forgiveness can have powerful health benefits. Forgiveness is associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety, higher self-esteem, and greater life satisfaction. Understanding the power of forgiveness and its impact on mental well-being can help inspire you to forgive people in your life and lead to a healthier, more fulfilling life.

Last Sunday, July 21, Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton played host to nearly 200 people who attended the Santa Cruz Mountains Firewise Festival.

I’m vacationing this week in Oregon, visiting my webmaster Evan in Eugene and also my friend Janie who lives in the historic mining town of Jacksonville near Ashland. We have taken several trips together, including the Mayan ruins in Mexico and birding in Southeast Arizona. But the trip we both think might have been our favorite was the one we took to Eastern Poland. 

Aptos residents gather at a Santa Cruz Local listening session at Aptos Branch Library in June to discuss local problems and potential solutions. (Kara Meyberg Guzman — Santa Cruz Local)
APTOS >> Affordable housing, better job opportunities for young people and concerns about empty second homes were some top issues in a recent poll of voters from Aptos and other areas of Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 2.
District 2 spans from Capitola through Aptos, Freedom and Corralitos to La Selva Beach and part of Watsonville. District 2 Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend is not running for re-election, and voters on Nov. 5 will choose between Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa to serve a four-year term. 

Bahia Brunelle shares her connection with Vogue Lanes.

Shakespeare's rom-com classic As You Like It filled the Grove with the sounds of merriment, silliness and slapstick at the Santa Cruz Shakespeare opening night. Playing for laughs, this production is spun as a crowd pleaser showcasing sit-com, vaudeville, and an interior gloss on Cyrano performed by a dazzlingly diverse company.

The political events and strategizing within the Republican National Convention have been taking place at lightening speed in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump’s at a rally in Bethel, Pennsylvania. The current fears being expressed by delegates, along with heightened security, is bringing an air of foreboding to the four-day event, which opened Monday, July 15th. Chris Krohn was on the ground and inside the security zone enshrouding the Fiserv Forum, the venue where Trump accepted the nomination for President. Monday’s events included a protest by the “Coalition to March on the DNC.” Coalition spokesperson, Omar Flores said, that “protesters will march where they want to march,” possibly setting up a confrontation with the hundreds of local, state, and federal police. That evening, inside the arena, Trump was to name his choice for vice-president. KSQD was there to report as events unfolded at the RNC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  This episode of "Talk of the Bay" features studio hosts, Meilin Obinata, Joy Schendledecker, and Chris Krohn reporting from Milwaukee.  The show and podcast were produced and engineered by Nyanko Nyasu.

If we had not gotten lost, we would have never found ourselves looking down on Aptos High School from the mountain above.