About 20 firefighters responded to a blaze that broke out early Tuesday at Santa Cruz’s Circle Church. Santa Cruz Fire Marshal Tim Shields said that the presence of multiple fires made it clear that arson was likely.
Crime
Posted inLatest News
Capitola woman missing since Dec. 3; boyfriend not cooperating with El Cerrito investigation
Police say Capitola’s Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann, 61, has been missing since Dec. 3. Investigators say her boyfriend, Theobald “Theo” Brooks Lengyel, who also goes by Mylo Stone, is considered a person of interest but is not cooperating with authorities. Capitola police are assisting the El Cerrito-led investigation into her disappearance.
Posted inCapitola & Soquel, Latest News
Capitola to install illuminated stop signs at intersection after hit-and-run
During a Thursday night Capitola city council meeting, council members directed staff to install illuminated stop signs at the Bay Avenue and Hill Street intersection.
Posted inEducation
UC Santa Cruz bus crash injures six, damages historic lime kiln
A UC Santa Cruz bus drove off the road Tuesday night and struck a lime kiln near the Cowell Ranch Hay Barn. In a campuswide email Wednesday, administrators confirmed that six people were injured, two critically; five are students and one is a university employee.
Posted inCapitola & Soquel
Debra Towne’s death on Capitola’s Bay Avenue shocks community, igniting demands for change
Debra “Debby” Towne was a caregiver who loved to dance. She had dreams of going to Hawaii and cherished Christmas cookie baking with family and friends. And at age 70, the resident of a seniors housing complex in Capitola still loved to walk, spending many evenings walking her dog with longtime friend Ray Travers after […]
Posted inLatest News
Sheriff’s office confirms hunger strike in Santa Cruz jail as inmates say ‘we are treated abominably’
Five inmates are on a hunger strike in the Santa Cruz Main Jail, and their complaints mirror many of the issues cited in a civil grand jury report earlier this year. A similar demonstration led to changes in the jail in May 2019, but activists say the focus should remain on funding programs and services aimed at rehabilitation.
Posted inLatest News
Police arrest two teens in alleged Ocean Street attack on homeless man
Santa Cruz Police Department investigators are still trying to understand what initiated an attack on a homeless male on Ocean Street on Friday night; Scotts Valley police have arrested two teens on assault charges. While attacks on homeless people seem to be on the rise nationally, there is little tracking of such violence, and none locally. Local police could not recall a similar case here and acknowledge it is likely incidents are underreported.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Appeals court orders pause on the placement of a sexually violent predator in Santa Cruz County
An appellate court has blocked the placement of Michael Cheek, a man diagnosed as a sexually violent predator, in a Bonny Doon home pending a ruling on the matter. A Santa Cruz judge approved of the placement in November but then issued a stay.
