Santa Cruz County Local News

A public forum about the future of Seacliff and New Brighton state beaches will be held on September 26, hosted by California State Parks and Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks.

An introduction to Christopher Bradford, candidate for the District 5 seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.

An introduction to Monica Martinez, CEO of Encompass Community Services and candidate for the District 5 seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.

For five years, California officials responding to the homelessness crisis had to work around one big restriction imposed by the federal courts: Because they didn’t have enough shelter beds, cities generally couldn’t make homeless camps illegal.

California’s inland regions are experiencing dangerous heat waves, exacerbated by rapid population growth. As more people move away from the expensive coastal areas to more affordable inland communities, these regions are seeing significant demographic changes and spiking electricity bills.

The completion of a project to improve the floating walkway and signs on the Neary Lagoon Wildlife Refuge Interpretive Trail is being celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 17.

H5N1 bird flu has been reported in three California dairy herds.

California’s public schools have a numbers problem —and it’s not just that their students don’t score very highly in national tests of mathematics ability.

More than two-dozen California cities passed, strengthened or are considering ordinances that penalize people for sleeping outside, after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed cities to crack down.

In their September 10 meeting, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors heard how the Human Services Department was addressing the shift in the homeless population from Santa Cruz to Watsonville.

In their September 10, the Santa Cruz City Council heard an update on repairs to 11 separate sites on scenic West Cliff Drive.

Following three separate critical county civil grand jury reports, the Santa Cruz City Council voted in their September 10 meeting to seek additional time to respond thoroughly to each.

In their September 10 meeting, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance allowing home kitchens for commercial food use.

An exclusive CalMatters analysis of the latest California homeless count reveals some good news and bad news: Though the growth rate of homelessness appears to be slowing, the overall number of unhoused Californians increased from two years ago.

The grand opening of the newly rebuilt Capitola Wharf is scheduled for September 25.

The California state goal to conserve 30% of its land and coastal waters has advanced, with conserved lands reaching 25% and coastal waters 16%.

Amid a Southern California heat wave, about 300 advocates for rent control — with two 10-foot “greedy landlord” puppets — rallied Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, chanting: “The rent is too damn high!”

The controversial idea of cash reparations divided even Black advocates in the legislature this year. Here’s what’s next.

Celebrating 50 years, nonprofit health care provider Santa Cruz Community Health will be hosting a fundraising gala at the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz on Octtober 5.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel explains the City of Santa Cruz's Measure Z, the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax, which is on the November ballot.