Santa Cruz County News & Analysis Articles

Supporters say a series of bills before the Legislature would improve work-life balance by expanding sick days and family leave. But opponents say the proposals would hurt struggling small businesses.

A yearlong investigation shows that a $100 million-a-year rehabilitation program for former California prisoners grew with little oversight from the state corrections agency. It's unclear how many parolees wind up back in prison.

A Bay Area woman sued her husband's employer after she became infected with COVID-19. The California Supreme Court found that giving her workers' comp could set a precedent that would imperil the system.

The California Coastal Commission has broad authority to protect the state's shoreline. Now, some want to curtail its power over affordable housing proposals.

Two proposals that would usher in single-payer health care have divided former allies in the fight for reform.

Gov. Gavin Newsom poured ‘unprecedented’ money into homelessness, but providers say his use of one-time grants does not allow for long-term solutions to the state’s biggest crisis. That's what happened in Grass Valley.

The Supreme Court has now overturned decades of precedent in a new ruling that bans affirmative action, the consideration of race in college admissions as a way to create campus diversity.

In a landmark case, California's Supreme Court will decide if cities must switch their at-large elections to a voting-by-district system after hearing oral arguments the Pico Neighborhood Association v. Santa Monica voting rights case June 27.

The California legislature is readying a $15.5 billion bond issue to address climate resiliency for voters to approve on the 2024 state ballot, after the budget shortfall forced billions in cuts to climate spending.

More than 170,000 people are homeless in California. Some Democrats want to make the state the nation’s first to declare housing a human right with a state constitutional amendment, but opponents worry it would be costly.

Gov. Gavin Newsom took to his Twitter account to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would regulate gun sales and use nationwide, in a way that courts cannot change.

Renewable energy sources provided 37 percent of California electricity in 2021, a new record for the state as it moves toward its 2045 goal of 100 percent clean energy. Battery storage will play a huge role in reaching that goal.

California will cut use of water from the Colorado River drastically under a new agreement announced by the Biden Administration on May 22. Nevada and Arizona have also agreed to the cuts.

When the Pajaro River flooded, nonprofit groups stepped up first to help victims. And they’ll keep helping, even after media coverage fades away.

Texas often claims to have lower taxes than California. But a new study by WalletHub shows that California's overall tax burden is significantly less, and that California does better for lower and middle income taxpayers.

Artificial intelligence development is moving fast. Elon Musk and others are now calling for AI researchers to pause for six months to ensure safety and ethical measures are put in place.

Three mass shootings with at least six fatalities have already taken place in California in 2023, resulting in 25 deaths. Statistically however, California has been below average for the United States in rate of mass shooting deaths.

Peter Thiel, the Donald Trump supporting Silicon Valley billionaire and venture capitalist, may have played a big role inthe bank run that ended in the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. But why?

SVB lobbied hard for bank deregulation, which may have led to its own failure. And depositors blew past limits on federal insurance, knowing they would lose their cash if the bank went under unless the government saved them. Here’s how …

Climate change driven storms are creating new problems for Gavin Newsom and California's budget process, which is already reeling from a projected $25 billion deficit that emerged after a $97 billion surplus disappeared.