The threat of mass firings of federal workers has a number of industries concerned about the future of their services, even if many in Santa Cruz County say they have not heard of any local layoffs.
Today’s Top Story
A significant story with interest across the county
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Newsom vows to pull funding from cities, counties that fail to decrease homelessness and encampments
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he was making additional money available for California counties and cities to address homelessness, with a caveat: You must be successful in solving the problem.
Posted inLatest News
Moss Landing fire: Santa Cruz County tests see no elevated health risks; survey aims to gather info from residents
Santa Cruz County has completed environmental testing to gauge the Moss Landing battery plant fire’s impact on local air, water, soil and agriculture, it announced Friday. While results show that there are “significantly lower” levels of metal in Santa Cruz County than in neighboring Monterey, both counties are circulating a survey to gather data from residents.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Food, toiletries distribution for undocumented ag workers continues amid deportation fears; first under Trump sees lower numbers
As deportation fears loom under Donald Trump’s second administration, undocumented agriculture workers in Watsonville continue to attend the Center for Farmworker Families’ monthly distribution of food and toiletries. The local nonprofit has changed its distribution format out of safety concerns for participants.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Federal cuts could rock ‘every social safety net program’ in Santa Cruz County
Carlos Palacios, the Santa Cruz County government’s chief executive, warns that proposed federal budget cuts could significantly affect local social safety net programs. With uncertainty surrounding Medicaid, food assistance, and FEMA reimbursements, county officials are preparing for potential financial strain and difficult decisions in the months ahead.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
A ‘perfect storm’ of environmental and political issues is driving Santa Cruz fishers out of the water
Santa Cruz County’s fishing industry is in crisis. For generations, local fishers have relied on catching Dungeness crab in the fall and winter and Chinook salmon in the spring and summer. But over the past nine years, a “perfect storm” of environmental challenges, promised disaster relief that has failed to surface and few viable solutions for the future is forcing boats out of the water.
Posted inLatest News
Hidden no more: Crews push to debut Santa Cruz County’s first national monument trail network this summer
Tucked behind Davenport’s agricultural fields along Highway 1, the federal government has been working with locals to design and carve out 17 miles of hiking trails as part of Santa Cruz County’s own Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument. Work is expected to wrap up in the summer, more than eight years after President Barack Obama designated the land for preservation. Once finished, the network, which crews have built entirely from scratch, will give the broader public access to what promises to be one of the county’s, and country’s, natural gems.
Posted inLatest News
Prescribed burns at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park were carefully planned, will improve health of old-growth forest
Timing the blazes between soggy storms, California State Parks workers and volunteers stage prescribed burns of piles of collected brush, branches and limbs to reduce the danger of uncontrolled fire and to make the forest more healthy.
Posted inLatest News
Flood warnings turn to evacuation orders in Felton, Watsonville; Santa Cruz closes wharf Friday with high surf forecast
Residents of the Felton Grove neighborhood along the San Lorenzo River and of areas of Watsonville along Corralitos and Salsipuedes creeks were ordered to evacuate Thursday morning after heavy rains. In Santa Cruz, the city will close the municipal wharf Friday with big swells forecast.
Posted inLatest News
Attorneys deliver closing statements in Adrian Gonzalez trial; jury begins deliberation
The attorneys in Adrian Gonzalez’s trial for release gave lengthy closing arguments on Tuesday before the court sent the jury to deliberate on the fate of the 25-year-old convicted of the 2015 murder of Santa Cruz 8-year-old Madyson Middleton. Prosecutor Tara George argued that Gonzalez is nowhere near ready for release and continues to deceive people about who he really is, while Gonzalez attorney Charlie Stevens said that he is not the same person he was when he committed the crime nearly a decade ago and has learned to deal with the mental health issues that created the conditions for the crime.