Santa Cruz County Elections & Politics Articles

As congressional factions volley responsibility for pandemic breakdowns, Silicon Valley’s home state leads off a new book about “why government is failing in the digital age.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom took to his Twitter account to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would regulate gun sales and use nationwide, in a way that courts cannot change.

A bill to ban caste discrimination in California brings a global conflict to the Legislature. While many South Asian groups support the measure, some say it could backfire.

A new interpretation of an old law gives homebuilders leverage over California cities and their zoning codes. They’re using it to push through thousands of new apartments around the state.

State lawmakers want to loosen CalWORKs job requirements so people keep cash benefits. Congress’ debt limit deal could curb that.

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.

Scotts Valley Council members remained poised, asking constructive questions, as they were told about just how bogged down some of their infrastructure improvement projects had become, during a regularly-scheduled session May 17. Staff blamed this on high turnover at City …

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.

How timing can make or break what qualifies for the ballot

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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 annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards highlight the work of the LGBT community

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 …

The Problem Solvers Caucus wants to put policy before partisan politics. Can such bipartisan caucuses change the California Legislature?

State of Jefferson may be the best-known secessionist movement, but starting before California became a state, there have been at lest 220 efforts to divide the state into two pieces, or even more.

State of Jefferson is a movement by northern counties to secede from California and form a new state. Here's everything you need to know about this secessionist movement, which started in 1941 and remains strong today.

Peter Thiel, the Donald Trump supporting Silicon Valley billionaire and venture capitalist, may have played a big role inthe bank run that ended in the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. But why?

Santa Cruz County’s newly elected official talks disaster relief efforts, emergency response and more