Community Pulse
What residents are talking about in Santa Cruz public meetings, ranked by community engagement.
6 topics in environment
Battery plant fire / alternative energy
201 Front Street heritage trees
Fossil fuel litigation
Offshore drilling and deep-sea mining ordinance
Fossil fuel lawsuit legislation
Regional climate MOU
In the News
12 articlesRecent coverage of Santa Cruz from local and regional media.
29 new businesses have opened in downtown Santa Cruz since 2025. Here’s why.
29 new businesses have opened in downtown Santa Cruz since 2025. Here’s why.
Thursday evening traffic: Highway 1 & 9 lane closures, expect delays in Santa Cruz
Thursday evening traffic: Highway 1 & 9 lane closures, expect delays in Santa Cruz
Watsonville Community Hospital board voted to close maternity services, NICU. What could keep them open?
Watsonville Community Hospital’s board voted to close its maternity services and NICU, but the decision could be reversed if the financially distressed hospital secures additional funding. WCH is pursuing state aid, private contributions and potential county funding to keep the services open.
Nov 5, 2026Santa Cruz County’s AI plan needs a real off switch
Santa Cruz County is embracing artificial intelligence, but its safeguards need to keep pace, writes behavioral scientist Gleb Tsipursky, who has written a book on the psychology of AI adoption. Before giving AI agents access to sensitive records or the power to act, the county must prove that humans can stop the machines, he writes. That means creating clear limits on what AI can do, installing independent monitoring and a reliable human-controlled off switch. Innovation is welcome, he writes, but accountability must come first.
Nov 5, 2026Tory Del Favero, TJ Welch, Joe Clarke lead in Capitola City Council race
As the vote count continued early Wednesday morning, the three top spots in the Capitola City Council race were held by Tory Del Favero, TJ Welch and Joe Clarke. Cami Corvin and Peter Wilk trailed behind.
Nov 5, 2026El consejo directivo del Watsonville Community Hospital votó a favor de cerrar los servicios de maternidad y la unidad de cuidados intensivos neonatales. ¿Qué podría evitar su cierre?
La junta directiva del Watsonville Community Hospital votó a favor de cerrar sus servicios de maternidad y su unidad de cuidados intensivos neonatales (NICU, por sus siglas en inglés). Sin embargo, la decisión podría revertirse si el hospital, que atraviesa graves dificultades financieras, consigue fondos adicionales. El hospital está buscando ayuda económica del estado, contribuciones privadas y posibles fondos del condado para mantener abiertos estos servicios.
Nov 5, 2026Casey Clark, Ed Acosta hold slight leads in preliminary Watsonville City Council results
With the first round of results posted at approximately 8:15 p.m., incumbent City Councilmember Casey Clark and newcomer Ed Acosta held slight edges over their opponents in the two contested Watsonville City Council elections.
Nov 4, 2026Santa Cruz County News Briefs: November 4, 2026 | Good Times
Moss Landing Shootings Multiple people were killed and others injured in a shooting early Monday morning along Jetty Road in Moss Landing, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said.According to Sheriff’s Office...
Nov 4, 2026Santa Cruz County sales tax increase Measure E leads in early results
SANTA CRUZ — Early tabulation numbers showed Santa Cruz County sales tax increase Measure E appeared to be on track to reach the simple majority threshold required to pass in Tuesday’s election. The measure led...
Nov 4, 2026Misty Navarro, Alicia Jimenez, Eriberto Estrada, Andrew Goldenkranz lead in PVUSD races
As of Wednsday morning, Andrew Goldenkranz, Eriberto Estrada and Alicia Jimenez maintained large leads in their respective Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees races. Meanwhile, the Area 7 race between Misty Navarro and…
Nov 4, 2026Incumbent Greg Wimp, Michael Zeller lead in Scotts Valley City Council race
SCOTTS VALLEY — Incumbent Greg Wimp and political newcomer Michael Zeller led the race for two at-large Scotts Valley City Council seats Wednesday. The 1:53 a.m. Wednesday ballot tabulation update shows Wimp le...
Nov 4, 2026Ryan Coonerty maintains lead in Santa Cruz mayoral race
SANTA CRUZ — As votes continued to be counted, Ryan Coonerty maintained the lead in the race for mayor of Santa Cruz by 10 percentage points. As of 1:53 a.m. Wednesday, with 16,069 votes counted, Coonerty ...
Nov 4, 2026