Santa Cruz County Public Safety Articles

California cities are struggling to hire police in a tight labor market after the COVID pandemic. Some are raising by double digits and offering eye-catching bonuses.

It’s a confusing time in the COVID pandemic. A new booster is on the way, but cases are rising and you might want more protection now.

More California police departments are deploying body cameras. A new court ruling restricts how prosecutors can use footage of witness accounts at trial.

Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved the merger of the fire departments that serve Scotts Valley and Branciforte on Aug. 2. Scotts Valley Councilmember Allan Timms said he was glad to see the Scotts Valley Fire District …

California grants school boards much local control, but recent events have pushed the state to take steps to stop local school board meetings from turning into potentially dangerous culture war battlegrounds.

Climate change caused by human use of fossil fuels is the major reason California wildfires have burned 172 percent more land than they would have over the last five decades, according to new research.

A yearlong investigation shows that a $100 million-a-year rehabilitation program for former California prisoners grew with little oversight from the state corrections agency. It's unclear how many parolees wind up back in prison.

Marie Heilman of Winters, who is happy to be alive, wants people to guard against mosquitoes and the deadly virus they carry.

Gov. Gavin Newsom poured ‘unprecedented’ money into homelessness, but providers say his use of one-time grants does not allow for long-term solutions to the state’s biggest crisis. That's what happened in Grass Valley.

Santa Cruz County has withdrawn from an agreement with Pajaro Valley Regional Flood Management Agency (PRFMA) after the two disagreed on how to spend roughly $1 million in funds meant to address flood risk in South County. PRFMA is made …

More staff and coordination in new 24-hour response.

Learning about the dangers of surveillance technology can be empowering, the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury writes in the introduction to the new report they published June 20. Its latest 20-page look at spy tech and data collection at …

The money will help Pajaro residents recover from flooding, regardless of immigration status.

Prescribed Burn Associations could be the future of mitigating wildfires in Santa Cruz County

You have to be 18 to get divorced in California, but there’s no minimum age to get married. Child marriage survivors protested at the state Capitol, but the Legislature likely won’t act until next year.

At its most recent regularly-scheduled meeting, Scotts Valley City Council heard from a consultant that it didn’t do so well on the pavement condition index (PCI), with more than a third of its roads rating “poor” or “failed.” Scotts Valley …

Just two years after its formation, the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency is already at risk of splintering.

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.

CodeRED, the County’s community alert and warning system has been upgraded with new features and rebranded as CruzAware. The system provides information during emergency and non-emergency situations, including roadwork and neighborhood-level disruptions.  Users can select how they receive information whether …

Programs would dispatch mental health workers, not police.