Santa Cruz County Local News

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.

An introduction to Pat Sánchez, the new superintendent of the Live Oak School District.

The Republican hopeful brought in more cash than Democratic rival Adam Schiff for the first time this campaign during the latest quarter, but still has less to spend.

A Kings County judge today issued a temporary restraining order against the state that pauses its unprecedented move to crack down on groundwater depletion in California’s agricultural heartland.

California courts have long upheld below-minimum wage pay for prison inmates working a wide range of jobs. A 2024 ballot measure that would ban forced labor could alter those decisions.

The Supreme Court’s decision on homelessness will test a shelter system that’s full of problems – and lacking accountability.

Public chargers must be built at an unprecedented pace to meet the target in less than 7 years, and then doubled to 2 million in 2035. The high cost — $120,000 or more for one fast charger— is just one obstacle.

A multi-part series examining the impact of fentanyl and opioids in Santa Cruz County.