Santa Cruz County Government Articles

California and 32 other states are suing Instagram’s parent company, Meta, saying that their apps are damaging to children. Is there evidence for those claims? Here’s why social media is under attack.

After the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in college admissions, some students are rethinking their school selections. Some colleges are also boosting their student outreach as they seek diversity.

It’s the highest-profile race next year in California. This is where the leading candidates—Democrats Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff—are raising the most money.

California took the first step toward a single-payer health care system when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 770 this month, but the move is not enough for many backers of universal health coverage.

The state’s unemployment insurance debt, which ballooned as a result of the pandemic, is in dire straits with no clear path forward.

Black women are three times more likely than any other women to die during or immediately after pregnancy. California passed a 2019 law requiring hospitals to train labor and delivery staff on bias in medicine.

Only 40 percent of California high schools offer computer science classes as California falls behind in technology education nationally. A new law aims to make it easier to certify computer science teachers.

California’s poverty rate climbed and its working poor grew this spring, says the Public Policy Institute of California. Safety net programs played a major role in poverty rate changes.

California has more gun laws than any other state. Here's how it took a series of mass shootings to make the state the toughest in the country on guns.

A recent incident in San Francisco spurred the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission to suspend the licenses for Cruise’s driverless cars.

Logistics is one of the largest industries in California and keeps the state economy running. But it also comes with a heavy cost to the environment. Here are the facts on the most important industry you don't know much about, …

California grants climate credits for fuel made from cow manure, but there’s a paradox: The state’s program encourages collection of methane yet promotes natural gas.

Former President Trump claims mail balloting is rife with fraud. But to win more elections, the state GOP is expanding its efforts to collect mail ballots to boost turnout.

What is the California Coastal Commission? How one of the state’s most powerful agency protects public access to the state’s scenic coast from Mexico to Oregon.

A 2020 California law expanded the number of mental health conditions that insurers must cover. Now, lawmakers are reviewing whether the law is working as intended.

Ocean wind farms are essential to electrify California’s grid with 100% clean energy. But they’re a giant, costly experiment—no one knows how hundreds of towering turbines will transform the remote North Coast.

More than 30 states require insurers to provide some level of coverage for kids’ hearing aids. California isn’t one of them, and Gov. Newsom for the second time has vetoed a bill to close that gap.

States across the United States are banning the practice of billing kids for the cost of their foster care. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar effort in California, citing costs to the state.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature mental health policies allow the involuntary treatment of more Californians with severe mental illnesses. Some fear the new laws will infringe on the civil liberties of people confined against their will.

Gov. Newsom vetoes what would have been a first-in-the-nation law banning caste discrimination in education, housing and the workplace. The bill divided South Asian communities in California.