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January 24, 2026

County joins lawsuit to halt oil, mineral extraction

County of Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 agreed to allow the county to join a lawsuit that would stop the federal government from issuing leases for fossil fuel extraction within its borders. The lawsuit would in essence help preserve local...

County Supervisors reject rail-trail plan

A large portion of the Coastal Rail Trail project is at risk after the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday failed to approve staff recommendations to move forward with the work. While the supervisors did approve the environmental impact report after an hours-long...

Pajaro repairs progress as officials tour region

gavin newsom pajaro flood
PAJARO—Motorists who have been taking hours-long detours since waters from a flood forced the closure of Highway 1 saw a measure of relief Thursday morning, after officials opened the road. Officials cautioned, however, that parts of the highway between Salinas Road and Highway 129...

Arrest made in Capitola fatal hit-and-run

sirens
Capitola Police arrested a 58-year-old woman Dec. 1 on suspicion of being the driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian on Nov. 18. “Capitola Police Officers successfully located and arrested Aurora Lopez, a 58-year-old resident of Soquel,” Capitola Police said in a statement....

County sues pharmaceutical companies

The County of Santa Cruz has filed a complaint against several pharmaceutical corporations, alleging that they are complicit in fueling the national opioid crisis.

Fort Hunter Liggett soldier goes AWOL, steals Humvee

A soldier stationed at Fort Hunter Liggett in Jolon left base without permission Tuesday morning after taking a Humvee mounted with a machine gun, emergency dispatchers said.

Demanding Divestment

After a late spring rain storm hit the area over the weekend, UC Santa Cruz students continued their protest of the Israel-Gaza war, occupying the University’s Quarry Plaza in an action meant to pressure the school into divesting from companies tied to Israel and...

Gavilan, Cabrillo art departments present exhibit

gavilan cabrillo college gilroy center for the arts ceramics exhibit
Classes from Gavilan and Cabrillo colleges have joined forces to present a ceramics exhibit at the Gilroy Center for the Arts. The exhibit runs through May at 7341 Monterey St. in downtown Gilroy, with a reception on May 19 from 5-8pm. Students from the two colleges,...

Breakthrough in College Pipeline Project

Construction crews are wrapping up a sizable section of the College Lake Pipeline Project on Bridge Street in front of the Watsonville Buddhist Temple after drilling delays.  Marcus Mendiola, Water Conservation and Outreach Specialist with the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, said “the pipe is...

Annual Stuff the Bus Food Drive makes a run

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) held its annual Stuff the Bus Food Drive in partnership with Woodstock’s Pizza, Second Harvest Food Bank and Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce Wednesday in downtown Santa Cruz. To help local families facing food insecurity during the...
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Letters to the Editor, Jan. 23–29

Passenger rail price estimates too high One can never convince  me that restoring the Santa Cruz Branch rail line for passenger rail would cost an...

Alliances in turmoil

Boys To Men