Santa Cruz County Local News

Cal Fire’s new wildfire hazard maps could bring new requirements for defensible space and building standards in parts of Santa Cruz County.

At a May 14 night meeting in Santa Cruz, transportation authorities presented maps and images of potential passenger rail service that could end with a station at Depot Park or near Natural Bridges Drive. 

When a group of third-grade students at Ohlone Elementary School planted two trees on their campus earlier this year, it was the culmination of an environmental science project that began when they found a small colony of bats living under the eaves of one of the buildings on campus.

This week, scientists collected another round of soil samples in north Monterey County to determine whether January’s Moss Landing battery fire left lasting contamination.

Ben Lomond Fire directors on Friday canceled a two-year contract to provide Felton Fire a chief, help respond to calls and train new volunteer firefighters.

At a May 12 meeting in Watsonville, transportation authorities presented two locations for a potential downtown Watsonville train station and details of separated bike lanes on West Beach Street as part of the rail trail project.