Business Coronavirus 

Santa Cruz County Moves to Orange Tier March 31

Effective Wednesday, March 31, 2021, Santa Cruz County will move into the Orange Tier (Tier 3) of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy color-coded, tiered system for loosening restrictions based on improving COVID-19 transmission rates. Under the Orange Tier, many restrictions will be lifted, and sectors which were not allowed to open can now resume operations. Retail establishments may operate… Read More
Chris Copeland insurance Column: Antonia Bradford Fire Recovery Local News Valley People 

Fire Recovery: Chris Copeland Offers Insurance Education and Assistance

By Antonia Bradford When the CZU fire hit the San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley resident and retired insurance adjuster Chris Copeland knew right away that families who lost their homes would have a second battle in front of them – figuring out their insurance policies and contending with insurance companies. What he didn’t expect was the mistreatment that so many… Read More
Firesafe fire safe santa cruz county Fire Recovery Letters Local News 

Letter: Please Fund FireSafe Council of Santa Cruz County to Help Reduce Rural Fire Risks

Dear County Board of Supervisors, I am writing to ask that you direct the County Administrative Officer to allocate substantial revenues in the 2021-2022 Santa Cruz County Budget to provide funding for the FireSafe Council of Santa Cruz County. Your Board established the Council in 2016 but has stopped funding it. Two-thirds of Santa Cruz County lies within the Wildland Urban… Read More
Chocolate Beetroot Cake Alison Steele Column Alison Steele Columns Food & Drink 

Recipes from a Mountain Garden: Wild Blackberry and Beetroot Skillet Cake

By Alison Steele When February comes to an end, I start dreaming of the garden. The collards, kales, lettuces, and herbs are thriving, but the thought of round plump fruits and vegetables keep me pulling my seedbox down and fingering the envelopes of home-saved seeds of summer last. I start to notice the new spring crops in Wild Roots Market…… Read More
Wrights Station Bridge Footings Food & Drink History Local News Tourism 

The Ghost Train and Hidden Tunnels in the Santa Cruz Mountains

The story of the South Pacific Railroad is a tale of a colossal feat doomed to fail. The portion of the short-lived narrow-gauge railroad that connected Los Gatos to Felton had its share of disasters, from earthquakes to epic storms to fatal accidents. But in the end, not any specific one of these tragedies killed the railroad, it was the... Read More
San Lorenzo Valley Water District consolidation Columns Local News Water 

Long Term Engagement or Shotgun Wedding? SLV and Scotts Valley Water Districts Explore a Merger

By Jayme Ackemann Last month, as the San Lorenzo Valley was beginning to worry about debris flows and a lack of precipitation, the SLV and Scotts Valley water districts threw out a pretty significant trial balloon: A merger proposal. At the District’s February 4th board meeting, directors and staff hashed out a loose framework to study a merger. So loose,… Read More
H Orientalis Lenten Roses Ben Lomond Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening 

A March Garden

by Josh Reilly In February, a gardener’s anticipation borders on intolerable. Especially in those parts of the SLV subject to frost. A lot of what we see growing happily in Santa Cruz, right now, undamaged by frost, is under threat here. Alas, many winter-flowering plants are a lost cause here, with a few very worthwhile exceptions (see below). Flower buds… Read More