Local News

UPDATE (5:16pm, Aug. 20) Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said the City of Scotts Valley is expected to be evacuated later Thursday evening. UPDATE (3:26pm, Aug. 20) The City of Scotts Valley west of Highway 17, including the downtown area, Paradise Park and the...

Note: Reporter Tony Nuñez contributed to this story WATSONVILLE—Thousands of Santa Cruz County residents living in the county’s northern reaches have been ordered to evacuate as the CZU August Lightning Complex fires have spread throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains. Temporary shelters have been set up across...

Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final entry of a weekly series about the Pajaro Valley’s Japanese community. The series’ culmination coincides with this year’s celebration of the Obon Festival, a cultural and religious Japanese event honoring one’s ancestors. Read the first entry...

WATSONVILLE—The developer behind a 150-unit housing project off Ohlone Parkway is asking the Watsonville City Council for a one-year extension on the project’s approval. First approved by the council in 2018 as Sunshine Vista, Hillcrest Estates was set to transform an 11-acre junkyard at 511...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is searching for someone to take over the management of Pinto Lake City Park. The Parks and Recreation Department on Aug. 14 released a request for proposals (RFP) for the 8.5-acre lakeside park off Green Valley Road. The City is looking...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a temporary moratorium on evictions in the unincorporated parts of the county through Sept. 30. The board also unanimously approved a plan to restrict beach access during the upcoming Labor Day weekend...

SANTA CRUZ—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pulled Santa Cruz County off the state Covid-19 watchlist, a move that could allow the easing of some restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus. Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel in a Monday...

Santa Cruz County officials said residents should expect to experience rotating power outages of 1-3 hours until 10pm tonight, as the state's energy grid continues to struggle with increased demand because of the ongoing heatwave. The California Independent System Operator (ISO) early Monday issued a...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A lightning storm that began at about 1am Sunday sparked 22 fires across Santa Cruz County, five of which have burned several hundred acres. No communities are currently threatened, and no warnings or evacuations have been given, said Cal Fire spokeswoman Cecile Juliette. The...

By Jacob Pierce, Good Times News Editor CENTRAL COAST—Small fires popped up around the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay early Sunday morning as rare lightning storms struck the area, during what has already been a wild weekend for weather in Northern California and along...