Good morning! It’s January 5 — here’s what’s going on in your community today…
Cloudy with a little rain in Westside / Downtown
Today will be a thick cloud cover with a little rain. There is a 88% chance of rain. The high will be 59 with a low of 48. Rain now, changing to cloudy at 9 a.m.
Westside / Downtown news
RTC requests public input on Highway 1 coastal resilience; Watsonville police receive bike and pedestrian safety grant; Santa Cruz supplies 76% of county shelter beds, with activists calling for fairer homeless service distribution.
Beyond the Super Bowl and the semiquincentennial: Your big sneak peek at 2026 entertainment events to come
By Wallace Baine
Jan 4, 2026
OPINION: Santa Cruz will soon host 76% of homeless shelter beds in the county. That has to change.
By Kevin Norton
Jan 4, 2026
What’s new around you
▼︎ police incidents ▼︎ food inspections ▼︎ events

Read on to see the details about each item…
Roadwork is affecting traffic in the region
- A gray Nissan Frontier spun out and ended up facing the wrong way in the center divider on southbound Highway 17 at the Fishhook near Ocean St. in Santa Cruz around 5:59 a.m. today. No one was hurt. The #1 lane was closed while responders handled the scene and towed the vehicle, which was turned around and exited at Ocean St.
Restaurant inspections
County officials regularly inspect food facilities to ensure compliance with state laws. Here, Lookout Santa Cruz reports both those who have passed the inspections and those that the county deems to have a “major” issue. The county’s full ongoing report can be accessed here.
- Firefish/Woodies Cafe at 25 Municipal Wharf Unit 460, Santa Cruz, passed a county health inspection on December 30 with no critical issues.
- @ Thai Recipe at 2106 Mission St., Santa Cruz, passed a county health inspection on January 2 with no critical issues.
Community crime report
- A person was arrested for having methamphetamine and an outstanding misdemeanor warrant. The incident happened near the 1100 Block of Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz at 4 a.m. on January 1. (source)
- A person was arrested for being drunk in public and causing a. The incident happened near Pacific Ave. Maple St., Santa Cruz at 2 a.m. on January 1. (source)
- A person was arrested for attacking someone with a weapon (not a gun) and for having illegal drugs. The incident happened near the 1000 Block of Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz at 8 p.m. on December 31. (source)
- Petty theft from an unlocked vehicle occurred near the 100 Block of Heath St., Santa Cruz at 3 a.m. on December 31. (source)
- A person was cited and released for having illegal drug paraphernalia near the 100 Block Coral St., Santa Cruz at 11 p.m. on December 30. (source)
- A disturbance involving loud and unreasonable noise was reported near the 200 Block of Felix St., Santa Cruz at 1 a.m. on December 29. (source)
- A man was arrested for battery and being drunk in public near the 1200 Block of Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, at midnight on December 28. (source)
- A man was arrested for trying to give drugs to a minor, having illegal drugs, and being drunk in public. The incident happened near the 100 Block of Cliff St., Santa Cruz at 11 p.m. on December 27. (source)
Note on today’s report: Some of the incidents listed are not recent. This can happen for a couple of reasons: Delays in agency reporting — sometimes officials don’t file reports right away, or agencies release batches of reports weeks later. Delays in public complaints — people may not notice or decide to contact police until some time after an incident. Please contact the responsible law-enforcement agency or your local elected officials if you have concerns about their delay in releasing information.
Disclosure: Traffic incidents and police incidents are partially generated by artificial intelligence. We are constantly working to improve the accuracy and quality of our AI-generated content. However, there may still be errors or inaccuracies. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.




