Santa Cruz County Local News: Sustainability

During a report at the April 3 Council meeting, Scotts Valley City Manager Mali LaGoe announced the California Department of Housing and Community Development had certified its Housing Element—on its first try.

In part II of "Have you Been Canceled?", a look at California's homeowner's insurance crisis, Rachel Anne Goodman talks with Deputy Insurance Commissioner and spokesperson for Commissioner Ricardo Lara, Michael Soller.

A proposed budget for 2025 cuts money for road repairs. Storms in 2023 caused about $140 million in damage to county-maintained roads, county staff said.

In this program, State Senator John Laird and Executive Director of Consumer Watchdog, Carmen Balber discuss California's homeowner's insurance crisis and whether Commissioner Ricardo Lara's proposed fixes will actually help the flight of insurance companies from the state or make it worse.

California State Parks staff continues to move forward with the Big Basin Redwoods State Park Facilities Management Plan (BBFMP).

As kelp forests in some parts of the state transform into barren seafloor, California Department of Fish and Wildlife leaders are set to consider a petition that aims to protect kelp with new no-fishing zones that include Pleasure Point and offshore of Natural Bridges State Beach.

A newly introduced Assembly bill could keep younger kids off e-bikes, and require testing for others. But some in the industry say the rules go too far.

UCSC professor Karen Holl has spent years monitoring ecosystems around the world, and she dug into that well of knowledge during a presentation titled, “Can We Save the World by Planting Trees?” in the Felton Branch Library’s community room.