Santa Cruz County Resilience Digest

Huge winter rains and snow are continuing to reduce fire risk, experts say.

As sea levels rise, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes from an approach often considered a last resort.

The National Association of Counties delivered a unanimous vote Friday that will include equitable flood protection for disadvantaged communities.

Luis Yauri Oyola hopes one day to buy a tractor to start a business in Peru; he estimates that he is six years away from that goal, for which he will have spent more than a decade of his life living thousands of miles away from his family. He is on call 24/7 and doesn’t leave the job site except for necessities.

The Poet and The Patriot permanently closed due to the economic impact of shelter-in-place. In its place The Alley Oop Cocktail Lounge will open—an exciting contribution to the Santa Cruz cocktail, dining and entertainment scene from Max Turigliatto, who also owns Mission West Bar.

Nearly four months after the breech of the Pajaro River levee, many residents remain displaced or are feeling the impacts of the floods.

The Live Oak School District Board of Trustees granted a two-month eviction extension, meant to give time to finish negotiating a longer lease agreement that’s been in the works for months.

County leaders endorsed a new plan that charts a path for at least three years of year-round, 24-7 mobile mental crisis response available countywide, among other beefed-up services.

The Capitola City Council unanimously gave its staff the green light to begin accepting bids for Phase 2 of the Capitola Wharf Resiliency and Public Access Improvement Project, which includes restoring the large section of the iconic structure ripped away in early January.

Sixteen weeks after ocean waves crashed into Capitola’s Esplanade, causing enough damage to shutter all the restaurants, nearly all of them have reopened.

Living in Pajaro, California, means living at the whims of the effects of climate change on both life and property. On March 11, the Pajaro River breached the town levee, flooding the town. It's been seven weeks since the levee breach.

“If we can have a decent summer, I’m pretty sure we’ll survive and then we can start buying the less-necessary things as we go,” said My Thai Beach owner Dominick King.

Supervisors approved the program's second round of grants last June and accepted more than 50 award proposals that distributed roughly $5.9 million in total funding.

On Monday night, President Joe Biden approved a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for seven California counties, including Monterey and Santa Cruz, allowing for federal funding to provide relief for flooding and other extreme weather conditions that have taken place since mid-February.

Debris removal is in full swing in Pájaro and adjacent areas but many residents still have questions about how the process works and who is organizing and coordinating the effort.

For most Californians, the sight of aircraft spewing neon pink liquid over flaming trees and brush has become a hallmark of aggressive wildfire suppression campaigns. But some forest advocates say the substance does more harm than good. A federal lawsuit could reshape how the U.S. Forest Service battles wildfires throughout the western United States.

Reps. Jimmy Panetta and Zoe Lofgren — who both represent Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in Congress — signed a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, urging the federal government to expedite improvements to the levee.

Who pays for storm damage from fallen trees? As Northern California dries out, a new set of questions are facing residents.

Children have been displaced, with families living out of cars, sleeping in emergency shelters or moving out of Monterey County to stay with relatives.

With wind gusts up to 80 mph in Santa Cruz County Tuesday, numerous fallen trees led to outages and closed roads around the region.

California State Parks will commence work on March 20 on the damaged pier at Seacliff State Beach, with demolition expected to take six weeks and leave no visible portions of the pier.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited storm-battered Pájaro, touring flooded areas in a high-water rescue vehicle provided by the California National Guard, and later spoke about the devastation that has afflicted this community and others around the state.

Loch Lomond is the primary water storage facility, but it sometimes relies on the reservoir during periods of heavy storms.

In his initial climate budget proposal, the governor has cut about $561 million from local coastal resilience projects. Legislators, cities express concerns.

Wet conditions have hampered further progress on stabilizing a slope in Ben Lomond to allow for one-way traffic. Glen Arbor Road remains the available detour.

Capitola City Manager Jamie Goldstein said during a recent City Council meeting that overall storm damage costs have grown to $3.4 million—up from $2.6 million—due to updated permitting and design fees for repairs.

Building any structure on the active beach is asking for problems, and this is precisely what has happened at several locations along the northern Monterey Bay shoreline as well as elsewhere in coastal California, writes columnist Gary Griggs.

A freeze warning is in effect until 9 a.m. Saturday as the winter storm closed roads, and felled trees and power lines.

“I want to highlight what an amazing job our city has done in the wake of the storms of 2023,” writes Margaux Keiser.

What California’s big winter storms mean for the future, as sea level rise is makes storms more complicated.

Storm victims can now visit Santa Cruz County's Recovery Permit Center, where 4Leaf Inc. workers are available to help speed up the process.

A bicyclist went where cars couldn't and documented the effects of atmospheric river deluges in the Santa Cruz Mountains.