Santa Cruz County History Articles

As four aging hydroelectric dams are demolished, tribes and communities along the Klamath River wait anxiously to see what the future holds. “Once a river is dammed, is it damned forever?” experts ask.

At 118 years old, The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History is still evolving

Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation projects have helped to build California, but they are also damaging the state’s environment for people, plants and animals by eliminating essential wetlands.

Climate change has warmed Pacific Ocean waters, causing storms to rapidly intensify, leading to the first tropical storm watch in Southern California ever as Hurricane Hilary prepares to make landfall.

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Since 1947, California has led the United States in the fight against climate change. Here is a list of some of the steps the state has taken to battle global warming, greenhouse gases and air pollution.

Here are 10 of the most often-heard climate change denial claims and arguments. Do any of them hold any water?

To understand climate change denial, we must go back to the Ronald Reagan presidency and his proposal for the “Star Wars” space-based missile defense system.

Barbie is the most famous California-born toy. But there are other iconic playthings that were created or brought to market here.

Here's how the iconic Barbie doll and its manufacturer, toy giant Mattel, built an industry in Southern California that pours billions into the state’s economy.

By Mark Dolson The San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) – and the entire San Lorenzo Valley suffered an enormous loss on June 8, 2023 when District Engineer Josh Wolff experienced a fatal medical emergency at the age of 52 …

Dedicated to commemorating parts of history that sometimes offend the local chamber of commerce, E Clampus Vitus has studded California with plaques.

Pam Marino of Monterey County Weekly reports that the city government there is grappling with a unique problem: How to provide access to the places that make Monterey “the most historic city in California.”

The Supreme Court has now overturned decades of precedent in a new ruling that bans affirmative action, the consideration of race in college admissions as a way to create campus diversity.

The first-in-the-nation state-appointed task force report contains hundreds of recommendations for reparation, including a proposal that the state apologize and make financial amends for slavery and decades of racist policies.

By Julie Horner The Santa Cruz Mountains celebrates a new dining experience in sunny downtown Ben Lomond. After a series of soft openings to put on the finishing touches, Aroma Restaurant officially opened in March. Located where the iconic Tyrolean …

Santa Cruz County settler Isaac Graham was involved in political crises, family feuds and scandalous legal cases In late 1849, Isaac Graham had a surprise visitor to his Santa Cruz Mountain ranch: his full-grown son from his first marriage, Jesse …

California bans affirmative action in college admissions, but two pending Supreme Court decisions may go further than the current state law, which was passed as Prop 209 in 1996. Here’s what that could mean for the state.

One intersection with traffic lights. No high school. No movie theater. No transit center. One big shopping center. That was Scotts Valley when I arrived as a reporter for what is now the Press Banner 50 years ago. But Scotts …

The Pajaro Valley Historical Association (PVHA) is set to open a new exhibit showcasing the wedding dresses of local women from 1890 to 1990 at PVHA’s Bockius-Orr house. PVHA Emeritus board member Virginia Avila and office administrator Jodi Frensley spent …