Santa Cruz County News, Traffic & Weather

Updated information, including news and Explainers, about progress in building the 32-mile stretch of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail in Santa Cruz County.

California is still preparing for fire season as more communities become Firewise.

All across California, people are working together to protect their neighborhoods, communities and each other.

With spring sprung and the last rains fading into memory, it's Bike Month! And (coincidentally) : public transportation construction projects begin in earnest.

We welcome the warm season with stories of community foundations doing good work ... and more!

California prepares for fire season and California Local forks The Newsletter.

Elon Musk and his cadre of tech leaders might have us believe that embracing cyberculture means abandoning our planet—and humanity. But the giants upon whose shoulders they stand had a much better idea.

In advance of Earth Day, we consider radical changes to the California Environmental Quality Act, and the surprising history of the Coastal Commission.

A radical overhaul of the California Environmental Quality Act appears imminent. And: Is the era of the big NO already ending?

The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, is the state’s signature environmental legislation, and is also often named as the villain in the state’s housing shortage. But the story may not be that simple.

In which we focus on California public education.

Measuring performance of the California public school system is a complicated business. We explain.

Michael Lewis's new book celebrates the heroes of the federal bureaucracy currently under attack.

‘Who is Government?’ An army of selfless individuals working on problems the private sector doesn’t care about.

A law from 1962 mandates the improvement of California government. We explain.

An honest call for overhauling our governments—and an intro a couple of institutions that hold governments accountable.

Civil Grand Juries are a powerful means by which ordinary citizens investigate local governments and provide recommendations for improvement.

Introducing the people who keep the food supply safe, make sure consumers get what they pay for, and protect the public from invasive pests.

California feeds the nation and the world. Not just with culture and technology, but with food.

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.”