Santa Cruz County Local News

After years of delay, a new California regulation to protect indoor workers from extreme heat is now in effect.

Santa Cruz County Health officials report that COVID numbers in the county remain high.

What happens when voters take to the ballot to thumb their nose at state housing law? Courts haven’t offered a clear answer.

California Forever’s announcement July 22 that it has decided to pull a ballot measure that would have let voters decide on a controversial planned city in rural Solano County drew swift reaction from political leaders and opponents.

Following a report released the previous week by Solano County citing billions of dollars in costs and a host of other issues, California Forever pulled their initiative from the November ballot.

There never was much of a chance that California Gov. Gavin Newsom would be running for president this year, even if President Joe Biden were to step aside.

On July 22, the City of Watsonville began clearing a homeless camp adjacent to the Pajaro River levee.

State officials have issued an advisory on local shellfish on July 23 and a red tide has been reported off Rio Del Mar and Seacliff beaches.

On July 22, California Forever announced it was withdrawing its initiative to amend the Solano County General Plan off the November ballot and would instead begin working with the county through the normal, though less expeditious, process.

Officials in The City and County of Santa Cruz and the City of Watsonville are exploring tax and other policy changes in how the cannabis industry is governed locally.

The California Department of Public Health has issued a warning not to eat recreationally harvested shellfish gathered from Monterey Bay counties.

Government systems in Santa Cruz County and at Dominican Hospital were affected by the Crowdstrike outage.

A judge has halted a union effort at the Wonderful Company, throwing into question a new state law designed to make it easier for agricultural workers to organize.

A housing project at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Soquel is under discussion between church officials and a group of low-income housing developers.

Construction will commence soon on 460 units of student and employee housing on the Santa Cruz Westside.

The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency noted a drop in local COVID rates following a surge in June.

An update on repairs to the Cabrillo College pedestrian bridge over Soquel Drive which was damaged and closed in January.

In 2021, responding to reports that the state’s homeless shelters were dirty and dangerous, the state Legislature crafted a plan: It would require local governments to inspect their shelters after complaints and file annual reports on shelter conditions.

California failed to ban private detention centers. Now, it’s focusing on their working conditions, for immigrants who toil for $1 a day.

California State Hospitals can bill patients for the care they receive during confinement. The charges often run in the tens of thousands of dollars, putting vulnerable people in debt for years.