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Santa Cruz County Public Safety Articles



The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
U.S. Army Corps Seeks Public Input on Pajaro River Levee Environmental Study

The agency responsible for the rebuild of the Pajaro River Levee has completed an environmental assessment for Reach 6 of the project, and is seeking public input before finalizing it.

KSQD logo LOCAL NEWS
Low-Impact Camping Ordinance Raises Questions in Fire Zone

The Low Impact Camping Ordinance drafted by the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission took some rural residents by surprise. On one hand, people are already renting out camping sites on their private properties, sometimes with negative impacts on neighbors, sometimes ā€¦

Image caption: The O Lot Safe Sleeping site at Balboa Park in San Diego on March 22, 2024.
Is San Diego Homeless Camp Ban ā€˜Successfulā€™?

A new bill would make it illegal for homeless residents to camp in certain places, such as near schools, throughout California. Its authors say such a ban has had great success in San Diego. But a closer look at that ā€¦

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
ā€˜Bleakā€™ Outlook for Santa Cruz County Budget

A proposed budget for 2025 cuts money for road repairs. Storms in 2023 caused about $140 million in damage to county-maintained roads, county staff said. (Jesse Kathan ā€” Santa Cruz Local file)
SANTA CRUZ >> The financial toll of natural ā€¦

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Everyone Should Be Safe

The UCSC Campus Mobile Crisis Team is the first of its kind on a University of California campus. The CMCT provides an empathetic, non-police response to emergency calls regarding mental health crises on campus. Following a series of police killings ā€¦

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Capitola on the Mend

The Wharf House Restaurant and the Boat and Bait Shop on the Capitola Wharf were torn down and toted away over the past few weeks as part of major repair and rebuilding of the historic landmark.

San Lorenzo Valley Post logo LOCAL NEWS
Big Basin Redwoods State Park Update

California State Parks staff continues to move forward with the Big Basin Redwoods State Park Facilities Management Plan (BBFMP). Site planning and design considerations are in the works with the Reimagining Big Basin project team engaging stakeholders and the public ā€¦

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
County Supervisors Adopt E-Bike Rules

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a new ordinance that prohibits E-bikes from most places where pedestrians walk, with some exceptions.

Press Banner logo LOCAL NEWS
Rep. Panetta, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership Host Broadband Expansion Roundtable in Boulder Creek

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, recently convened a community roundtable on the expansion of broadband and cellular service in Boulder Creek.

Santa Cruz Local logo LOCAL NEWS
Progress highlighted on homeless services in Santa Cruz

Housing Matters Chief Impact Officer Mer Stafford speaks in front of pallet shelters for unhoused residents at the Housing Matters campus on Coral Street in Santa Cruz in January. (Jesse Kathan ā€” Santa Cruz Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> Santa Cruz ā€¦

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Supervisors grill AT&T over landline service plan

If the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approves a proposal next month by AT&T to end landline service statewide, people living in rural areas where there are no other viable options will be able to keep their landlines.

Image caption: Inadvertently, the beloved Muppet Elmo called attention to the mental health dangers of being too heavily online.
Lawmakers Now Calling for Regulation of Social Media

Lawmakers in California and other states are now making attempts to prevent the reported harms to children caused by social media platforms. The U.S. Senate got into the act as well, at a dramatic Jan. 31 hearing.

Image caption: A new law seeks to prevent cars from speeding, which causes about one of every three traffic fatalities.
If Drivers Wonā€™t Slow Down, Proposed Law Requires Cars Do It for Them

ā€œIntelligentā€ speed-limiting technology will be required in all new California cars starting in 2027, if a new law authored by San Francisco Senator Scott Wiener passes.

Image caption: Under a new law, homeless people in San Mateo County can be criminally charged for refusing to move to a shelter.
Should Homelessness be a Crime? New San Mateo County Law Allows Charges

In San Mateo County, a new law allows police to charge homeless people with criminal offenses if they donā€™t accept shelter. SCOTUS will soon weigh in with a potential landmark decision in an Oregon case.

Image caption: Los Angeles voters can take a step toward reducing traffic violence with a measure on the March ballot.
Can Traffic Deaths in Los Angeles be Reduced With a Ballot Measure?

With traffic deaths now regularly topping 300 per year, Measure HLA on the March 5 ballot gives Los Angeles voters the opportunity to force their reluctant city to implement new traffic safety measures.

Image caption: California traffic deaths dropped by 12 percent in the first three months of 2023, but road fatalities remain at crisis levels.
Death on the Roads: Traffic Fatality Crisis Far From Over

As the COVID pandemic eased, so did the epidemic of death on the road. Somewhat. But the ongoing crisis of traffic fatalities remains at high levels with early numbers form 2023 appearing to top 4,000 in California.

Press Banner logo LOCAL NEWS
Scotts Valley police chief mourns loss of ā€˜old schoolā€™ top-cop father

Three generations of ā€œSteve Walpoleā€ā€”(from left) Steve Walpole Sr., Steve Walpole Jr. and Steve Walpole IIIā€”attend the Special Olympics Torch Run in Scotts Valley last year. The community lost a significant link to its past when the elder Walpole died ā€¦

San Lorenzo Valley Post logo LOCAL NEWS
Felton Fire Protection District Board of Directors Notice of Vacancy

The Felton Fire Protection District Board of Directors has posted a Notice of Vacancy. Applications are due January 8, 2024. The position to be filled is for a term ending December 2024.

Featured

A Pyrocumulus cloud generated by the Dixie Fire in July, 2021.
What is Fire 'Containment?' That and Other Terms, Explained
What does it mean when firefighters call a fire "contained?" Here's a brief guide to commonly used fire prevention terminology.
States have expansive powers to protect the health of the general public.
The Stateā€™s Broad Power to Protect Public Health, Explained
Since long before the COVID-19 pandemic, states have possessed broad authority to protect public health.
California will soon be getting a new hotline number as an alternative to 911 for mental health crises.
988, the New Mental Health Emergency Number, Explained
Here's the story behind that new service, and the original 911 number.
Mosquitos kill about 725,000 people every year, worldwide.
Taking a Bite Out of the Mosquito Population
How local government tries to control the worldā€™s deadliest wild animalā€”the mosquito.
There are more than 300 community service districts in California.
Community Services Districts, Explained
Areas that the county overlooks can form their own local governments.
How Not to Feel the Burn
These groups help residents preserve their property, health and life.
Supercell storms are just one of many weather phenomena in the era of climate change.
The New Vocabulary of the Climate Change Era
As climate change causes more extreme and unusual weather, we need a new set of terms to describe the various phenomena
Though itā€™s the most famous, the San Andreas Fault is just one of more than 500 active faults in California.
Battening Down for the Big One
Making it through the earthquake is easyā€”the hard part comes later.
Many of Robert Kerbeckā€™s neighbors in Malibu Park lost their homes in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which left behind lots where only chimneys still stood.
Give Your Home a Fighting Chance
Wildfires are larger, more frequent, and more ferociousā€”so be prepared.
Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners
The state tries persuading insurance companies to cover homes in fire zones.
With CERT training, volunteers can learn firefighting skills.
Emergency Teamwork
With CERT training, ordinary civilians can play critical roles in protecting their communities.
Members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service hone their skills at various local events.
Listening Skills
With the CZU fires in mind, volunteers in the Santa Cruz Mountains are taking emergency communications into their own hands.
Workers clean up after flooding in Capitola Village.
Disaster Prep: Alerts, Maps and Apps
Keep these online resources handy in case of floods, fires, quakes and other disasters
View of the flooded San Lorenzo River Park Benchlands in Santa Cruz, California on New Year's Eve 2022.
Communicating During Disaster and Crisis
Recent lessons learned over days of local disaster.
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