Santa Cruz County News, Traffic & Weather

The New York Times Magazine spends an entire issue explaining why California matters, and CalMatters wins gold for giving the state the coverage it deserves.

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’s new CARE Court system that compels treatment for people with severe mental illness is set to roll out in seven counties this October, despite efforts by civil liberties groups to stop it.

Let’s face some hard facts—and still be able to celebrate the beginning of the best season of the year.

A new analysis shows that the California State University system doesn’t make or receive enough money to cover its costs, even with state support. The report and lawmakers urge the system to increase tuition, but even that might not be …

Ecology Action’s many programs make Central Coast communities greener. But it takes money to keep them running—and that’s where Jeanne LePage comes in.

More than 4 percent of death penalty convicts have been wrongfully convicted, data shows. But courts including the U.S. Supreme Court have failed to provide protections for the innocent facing death at the hands of the state.

The death penalty remains legal in California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a moratorium on executions in 2019. Will capital punishment end in the state? Here’s what’s happening.

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.

You probably know that The Newsletter goes out only to California Local members and subscribers. Today I am writing to bring the good news that we have just been given two big awards.

Voting is just the beginning. Stay connected with your representatives to make sure your government is working for you.

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On the Santa Cruz City Council, then as mayor, and then as county supervisor, Ryan Coonerty learned to love politics.

The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.

The state’s most important industry relies on workers who are not given a chance to obtain legal status.

The future of farming in California is changing as the planet warms, altering the rain and heat patterns that guide which crops are grown where. “We’re adjusting for survival,” one grower said.

California stands as America’s agricultural powerhouse, growing half of its fruits and vegetables. Here’s how California farming has shaped the state, from the early missions to today’s “factories in the field.”

How the SF state senator was changed by California; how our great state spawned a cultural phenomenon; how many Californians are being denied life's most basic necessity.

Comics may have been born in New York, but they came of age in California. And there’s more to the story than San Francisco comix.

Members of the California Legislature took nearly $1 million worth of trips sponsored by interest groups in 2022. The California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy accounted for 40% of the travel spending. Over the years, some of its …