Santa Cruz County Public Safety Digest

After California’s largest home insurance provider said it wouldn’t issue new policies, consumer and insurance industry groups have ideas for what they’d like to see California do. Here’s how the debate over four of those ideas shakes out.

Californians accused of crimes spend an average of five days waiting to see a lawyer. Shortening that time can help them keep their jobs, and spend less time in jail.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana ruled the U.S. Forest Service can continue to use aerial fire retardant to fight wildfires while waiting on a Clean Water Act permit.

In May, a video featured a young woman named Brooklyn imploring viewers to tell the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation about the importance of EarnIn, part of a relatively new app-based industry that provides cash advances to people based on their wages.

In addition to providing alerts during natural disasters, the new system can share information on roadways, community-level impacts and public meetings using targeted alerts based on a user’s specific location.

After a more than two-year vacancy, the UC Santa Cruz Police Department has a new top cop.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice started assisting the Environmental Protection Agency’s investigation this week.

After unanimously clearing the Senate, a bill expanding first responders' access to workers’ comp for PTSD moves to the Assembly.

Nearly 800 ballots soon will begin showing up in the mailboxes of Happy Valley property owners in early June.

Regarding a new court-based program set to arrive in Santa Cruz County before the end of next year, city leaders asked for a presentation this week on the so-called CARE court program.

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.

Santa Cruz County leaders helped move the pending joiner of two neighboring fire districts one step closer with a vote allowing the agencies to join their tax revenues.

Sprawl has allowed Californians to live closer to nature and buy homes where it is cheaper to build. But it has also left millions vulnerable to wildfires and flooding.

The National Weather Service calls the expected heavy rains a “direct threat to life and property.”

Following high-profile mass shootings, a majority of California voters surveyed worry that gun violence will touch their lives. But political polarization “is evident everywhere in this poll.”

Wave force caused a portion of the cliffside on the Steamer Lane side of Lighthouse Point to collapse, leaving a hazard for surfers.

Branciforte Fire Protection District leaders are expected to vote Feb. 16 on giving a final green light to a special tax benefit district ballot election.

As seismic engineers study the earthquakes that killed more than 20,000, it's becoming clear that a significant cause involved a building design common in California.

State fire officials said the deadly Zogg Fire began when a pine tree fell into a PG&E distribution line.

Several collapses of the sidwalk and roadway along West Cliff Drive spurred the city of Santa Cruz to close sections of the street and sidewalk as repairs are made.

President Joe Biden declared the storm damage in Santa Cruz County a major disaster, clearing the way for federal aid.

Santa Cruz County residents endured another storm system over the weekend, with flooding and evacuations, but there is hope of the rain stopping next week,

As tens of thousands of residents have faced ordered evacuations in the past two weeks, a series of emergency shelters offered respite.

Loch Lomond Reservoir fills for first time in four years; more rain on horizon.

The San Lorenzo River hits its second-highest level in 85 years.

“The main band of rain has moved on, but this isn’t over,” says the National Weather Service local forecaster.

A couple more storms are heading for Santa Cruz, and they’re expected to bring a substantial amount of rain. That raises further concerns for slides.

A powerful tide on Jan. 5 lifted a 1,171-square-foot home off its foundation and moved it roughly 30 feet inland.

The city of Santa Cruz announced that the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf is open to the public but a large portion of West Cliff Drive will remain closed.

Fifteen inches recorded at one Santa Cruz Mountains spot.

Sentinel photographer Shmuel Thaler shares some of his images from the damage in Capitola caused by the Jan. 5 storm.

As Santa Cruz County has faced a series of pineapple express-heightened winter storms, this week marks the 41st anniversary of one of the area's most deadly natural disasters.