Good morning! Wednesday, Sept. 9, has arrived, looking to be the warmest day of the week around Santa Cruz County – with a heat advisory in place, the mountains could see triple digits, and low 90s at our beaches.
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You’ll find more below from Hillary Ojeda on the ongoing heat wave. To stay safe, she reports, Santa Cruz County officials encourage people to limit strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day, take rests in the shade or air conditioning and keep hydrated.
Jessica M. Pasko takes the pulse of local business in her weekly roundup. She’s got the news that Santa Cruz-based financial technology company Paystand is growing its artificial intelligence-enabled software portfolio with a new set of tools that bring what are known as AI agents to financial processes including accounts receivable, spend management and reporting.
Jana Marcus returns with her latest review from local stages, with Giacomo Puccini taking on the California Gold Rush in his opera “The Girl of the Golden West.” A contemporary English translation adds profanity, camp and plenty of unexpected laughs, she writes.
You’ll also find Santa Cruz County food & drink coverage from Lily Belli among the hump day headlines – keep on reading.
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Heat advisory in Santa Cruz County: Temperatures to reach 90s through Thursday
Santa Cruz County and much of California are under a heat advisory as peak temperatures are forecast to reach the low 90s in Santa Cruz and Watsonville and the upper 90s in the mountains. Details here from Hillary Ojeda.
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Paystand branches into AI agents; court hearing for former Scotts Valley executive; Barilla snaps up Goodles
In this week’s survey of local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on the rollout of a new AI tool for Santa Cruz-based fintech company Paystand, notes a court date for a former executive of Scotts Valley’s Ambient Photonics and runs down other numbers, names and dates to know. Read it all here.
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Stay cool, everyone – thanks for reading.
Will McCahill







