Santa Cruz County Local News

Second District Candidates hosted by Aptos Chamber of Commerce for an informative Q&A.

“Street releases” have resumed after the nonprofit that operated a migrant welcome center announced its “finite resources have been stretched to the limit.”

The monthly rate of antidepressants being dispensed to young people increased about 64% more quickly during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.

At its meeting Thursday, the Capitola City Council unanimously approved a "quick build" project at the Bay Avenue and Hill Street intersection consisting of reversible, adjustable bicycle and pedestrian safety enhancements.

Elkhorn Slough’s resident otters were singled out when a team of scientists published a cover story in the prestigious journal Nature describing how they protect against erosion in coastal estuaries by eating burrowing crabs.

Whale experts are anxiously awaiting the annual 2024 count of gray whales migrating through Monterey Bay, following a sharp decline in last year’s gray whale survey.

Voting in California can be complicated. Here are answers to some common questions, plus what the leading U.S. Senate candidates say they would do if they’re elected.

EdSource asked students at California colleges and universities why they are choosing between online or in-person options.

Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment.

No issue matters more to Californians than housing and homelessness. Catch up on where the major Senate candidates stand on the subject.

Here are the biggest donors in the 2024 California Senate race, both for and against the top candidates: Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Steve Garvey and Barbara Lee.

State officials determined that Rancho Palos Verdes can utilize an already-established state of emergency to expedite landslide stabilization efforts as the crisis escalates.

Conservative activists who worked on the failed recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 have launched another attempt, arguing that conditions in California only worsened in the two-and-a-half years since then as Newsom’s attention shifted to national politics.

Ecologists estimate that up to 14,000 sequoias have been killed in recent wildfires. The National Park Service for the first time has begun replanting some severely burned areas.

U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta and Zoe Lofgren, and U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, urged the prioritization of the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project in a letter to the Biden administration.

Joel R. Primack, distinguished professor of physics emeritus at UC Santa Cruz, was recently announced as the 2024 recipient of the AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize, awarded to those who demonstrate significant contributions to science through their research, policy work or public service.
“As a young scientist, I was often advised that spending time on social and political issues would be career suicide, and that I should focus solely on research,” said Primack on receiving the reward. “But I take seriously the social responsibility of scientists, and I deeply appreciate being recognized both for my scientific contributions and for my efforts to broaden the opportunities for scientists and scientific societies to help solve the challenges facing our world.”
Growing up in Montana, Primack became fascinated with science from an early age. His concern for its social implications grew during the arms race, where he was instructed to hide under his desk at school as drill practice for nuclear bomb threats.
He would go on to study physics at Princeton University, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1966. Primack’s speech caught the attention of Oppenheimer — the theoretical physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb who was retiring as the head of Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study — who was impressed by his humanizing appeal of science.
“I wouldn’t have made such a speech unless I had had a lot of preparation,” said Oppenheimer in the June 15, 1966, issue of the New York Times.
Pursuing a Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University, Primack was further inspired to seek science policy by his graduate adviser Sidney Drell, a critical scientific consultant of the U.S. government on nuclear weapons. He then started a series of workshops to educate students on political and social issues with physics professor Frank von Hippel, another rising leader in science policy.
These workshops led to the creation of a congressional fellowship program in 1973, which would eventually become the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows Program. The fellowship supports an increasing number of scientists and engineers in getting first-hand experience in policymaking with the federal government. Primack has established that with good ideas and strong conviction, even young graduate students can have a big impact, said von Hippel.
Primack continued his work in science policy as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University in 1970, when he founded the Union of Concerned Scientists and proposed the American Physical Society’s program of studies on public policy issues. He would also later create the APS Forum on Physics and Society, AAAS Program on Science and Human Rights, and the National Science Foundation’s Science for Citizens program that would be signed into law.
In the 1980s, Primack was a leading force in promoting the abolition of nuclear weapons. He served as a U.S. delegate to several Pugwash Conferences and even flew to Moscow to stop the Soviet Union from launching nuclear reactors into orbit. He believed that because many worldly issues are fairly technical, scientists and engineers have a social responsibility to provide practical solutions given their background.
Following his time at Harvard, Primack chose to start a faculty position at UC Santa Cruz in 1973 for its growing astrophysics prowess. He applied his knowledge as a major contributor to the Standard Model in Particle Physics to fundamental questions about the universe. Together with former UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal and professor emerita Sandra Faber, Primack’s research pioneered modern theories of cosmology.
Today, Primack continues to mentor young physicists and encourages them to shape the evolving state of our world using their expertise. Many of his students now occupy leadership positions, showcasing his meaningful impact on future generations.
“He’s been a really great exemplar of what a scientist should be,” said Faber. “An expert in their own field, [making] important contributions to society at large and in their own lives, and exhibiting honesty, integrity and authenticity.”

New research warns of a possible collapse in Atlantic Ocean currents due to climate change. That could fundamentally alter global weather patterns.

There was a time not so long ago when trained observers were overwhelmed by the number of whales migrating through Monterey Bay.

The Wildlife Conservation Board voted to award $10.3 million to the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County to preserve the 27,000-acre Camatta Ranch in Santa Margarita.

Of all the races on your ballot, the least information is often available on local judges. Here are some ways to find out more about these candidates.