California’s Central Valley is at risk of catastrophic flooding. A new state plan calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare.
Storms 2023: Road to Recovery
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
A Lookout View: President Biden, please come to Santa Cruz County and visit those who need help the most
Editorial: As the governor and the president visit storm-torn California, where they visit is a meaningful act. Beyond scenic photo ops, it’s a sign of where their attention — and funding — might go. Santa Cruz County deserves a stop — but not just in scenic Capitola.
Posted inFood & Drink
‘A hardier bunch’: Santa Cruz County farmers markets soldier on amid deluge
As wave after wave of storms took aim at the Central Coast, local farmers markets remained open for business.
Posted inLatest News
Devastating storms might be over, but officials caution California to stay vigilant
As the skies begin to clear and a relentless series of atmospheric rivers finally start to move out of California, emergency and flood officials across the state might finally be able to catch a break.
Posted inLatest News
New Bay Area maps show hidden flood risk from sea level rise and groundwater
Amid repeated storms and sea level rise, new research shines light on another flood risk that has remained hidden for years: groundwater rise.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
2023 storms lesson: Santa Cruz County needs a better, more inclusive emergency response plan
Community organizer and former Santa Cruz mayoral candidate Joy Schendledecker sees a glaring problem with our community’s emergency response system. It is inadequate and does not, she writes, “include anyone explicitly representing the unhoused, non-English-speaking, elder or disabled communities.” She challenges our officials to do better, to learn from past mistakes, and to work more collectively and transparently to help those most in need. All of us, she insists, might one day need these services.
Posted inCoast Life
Paradise with a price: John Laird’s long view of dealing with the aftermath of natural disaster
Before he was state Sen. John Laird, he was the County of Santa Cruz’s John Laird, and before that, he was Santa Cruz mayor, city councilmember and staffer John Laird. They were formative years for observing and responding to disasters. And they taught him perspective both on accepting nature’s random, inevitable penance and finding ways to make this uniquely disaster-prone county as ready as possible for the next lashing.
Posted inLatest News
California bracing for one final round of storms as officials assess damage
Another moderate storm moved into California Sunday evening, but meteorologists also say there’s good news on the horizon. The series of storms that has ravaged the state, flooding communities, forcing evacuations, shutting down major highways and leading to at least 19 deaths, should come to an end this week.
Posted inLatest News
36 inches in Ben Lomond as Santa Cruz County looks to match or set rainfall records
Dry weather is in front of us, as the last few drops fall from the skies the next couple of days. In the San Lorenzo Valley, 51 inches has fallen since the Oct. 1 beginning of “rainy season,” 3 feet in the past three weeks. Meanwhile Monday, 3,796 people remained without power, and though 67 roads were closed within the county, major transportation arteries like Highways 1, 17, 152 and 129 were open.
Posted inCapitola & Soquel
Capitola Village’s magic has taken a beating, but you can help rekindle the #capitolalove
It’s hard to visit Capitola Village and not come under its spell — and that makes it even harder for anyone who’s felt the magic to see it in its current storm-ravaged state. And while our Santa Cruz County gem will always be vulnerable, we can all do our part to help the healing process by returning that love now.