Santa Cruz County Public Safety Digest

In their June 25 meeting in which residents expressed deep public safety concerns, Santa Cruz County Supervisors withdrew a proposed a Low-Impact Camping Area proposal.

There are few answers and no solution yet for the slow moving landslide on Mountain Charlie Road isolating a Santa Cruz mountain neighborhood.

Almost 400 suppliers, two-thirds in communities of color, don’t meet safety and reliability standards. Fixing them would cost billions.

Before the first official day of summer, almost 90,000 acres have been burned in California wildfires.

The Felton Fire Protection District is considering future options, including working with CalFire or putting a tax measure on the November ballot.

Santa Cruz County Health Department officials note a spike in local COVID cases.

With multiple fires already burning in the state, forecasters predict the coming fire season will be "very active."

Young Great White sharks are convening in the warm waters of Soquel Cove off Seacliff State Beach between Capitola and Rio Del Mar.

The Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury released a report on the state of the 586 miles of county-maintained roads, finding them inadequately funded and maintained.

After collecting more than the required signatures, on May 22, the Board of Supervisors approved the Santa Cruz County Water and Wildfire Protection Act go to county voters on the November 2024 ballot.

A short shelter in place was declared at Aptos High School on May 21 after sightings of a mountain lion on campus were reported to staff.

Group behind Water and Wildfire Protection Act, which would add a $87 annual parcel tax in Santa Cruz County, has submitted signatures to the county clerk for certification.

An initial review of body cam footage indicated no violations of department policy or the law in the arrest by multiple officers of a lone Black cyclist on the Santa Cruz Westside, according to the police chief.

A proposed ordinance limiting use of e-bikes on sidewalks and walkways in unincorporated parts of the county was delayed by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors until its May 14 meeting following feedback from residents.

The City of Watsonville announced a partnership with a Connecticut based software company to utilize the SeeClickFix mobile app for citizens to report non-emergency issues.

Legislation would fast-track approval for temporary or relocatable housing on vacant land when local shelter emergencies arise.

Work on repairing and rebuilding the Capitola Wharf has been complicated after inspections reveal structures at the end of the structure will require demolition.

Reprepresentatives Zoe Lofgren and Jimmy Panetta, and Senators Laphonza Butler and Alex Padilla sent a letter to the Biden administration are requesting full funding for the Pajaro River Levee project.

Santa Cruz County officials are making plans for the millions of dollars allotted to the county as part of the settlement of various lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors in 2019 and 2021.

Santa Cruz Cares and American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California are among those seeking to overturn Santa Cruz Planning Commission approval in February of the Oversized Vehicle Ordinance.

A tornado stuck Kings county briefly, and another touched down in Madera county, as favorable conditions came together during a powerful winter storm which swept the region.

A report of a 12 month study which ended in February indicates almost half of those cited for drug usage were not residents of the city, leading to questions about city approaches to drug addiction.

At its meeting Thursday, the Capitola City Council unanimously approved a "quick build" project at the Bay Avenue and Hill Street intersection consisting of reversible, adjustable bicycle and pedestrian safety enhancements.

U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta and Zoe Lofgren, and U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, urged the prioritization of the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project in a letter to the Biden administration.

Following December’s fatal loop bus crash that killed bus driver Dan Stevenson, students were finally able to address administrators.

The California Public Utilities Commission is reviewing an application from AT&T California to be relieved of its decades-old obligation to provide landline service in many regions, including parts of Santa Cruz County.

California’s law that requires background checks when purchasing ammunition is back in place.

A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6.

Los Angeles County flood control network withstands punishing rains—for now.

The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted to allow guns in local government buildings, defying California law.

An updated earthquake hazard map from USGS shows a high shaking risk in California.