Santa Cruz Local

05/27/2026

Congratulations Cabrillo College class of 2026. You all worked so hard to make it here! 🥲🎉🎓

05/27/2026

After months of navigating pushback from East Cliff Drive residents, the team behind the female surfer statue project announced today it will have a new home: Capitola Esplanade. 

The proposed 18-foot tall statue representing women’s contributions to surfing was originally envisioned in an area on East Cliff known as the Dirt Farm, which overlooks a surf break called Jack’s, or 38th. 

Despite gaining early support from dozens of local waterwomen, surfboard shapers, artists and Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manu Koenig, whose district includes the area, ultimately the project faced pushback from many neighbors of the Dirt Farm.

“When we first knew this project was going to go public I thought the main concerns would be physically her, what she looked like, how old she is, etc.,” said Kari Lockhead, one of the project leads. “At first I thought people had legitimate concerns that I wanted to address, but it quickly became a lot of misinformed conversations...This is not offshore drilling, this is a female surf statue, the third of its kind in the world. And if we can’t celebrate and come together on that then we’re in the wrong space.”

Kaila Pearson grew up on the west side of Santa Cruz in a renowned surfing family. Daughter of famed surfboard shaper Bob Pearson of Pearson Arrow Surfboards, Kaila said her earliest childhood memories are of being in the ocean – swimming, free diving, surfing and tidepooling. The male statue was an iconic part of her day-to-day life, because it represents how deeply surfing is interwoven into the Santa Cruz community, she said. 

“It’s part of our identity,” Kaila said. “To finally have a female counterpart to the male statue is very exciting and powerful. As someone who was oftentimes the only female in the surf lineup growing up, it’s really important to keep seeing other badass females in the ocean. I believe this female statue will serve as motivation to young girls.”

If approved by Capitola City Council, installation is targeted for 2027.

✍️ Alexandria Bordas

05/22/2026

🪳💸 The Palomar Inn is a residential hotel in downtown Santa Cruz with low rents and lots of cockroaches. But now the rent is going up because an affordable housing agreement expired in January and some tenants may end up on the street. That’s in part because a lot of the residents are seniors, disabled people or others on a fixed income that can’t afford even a few hundred dollars more. Higher rents could also impede efforts to house homeless people because the affordability of the Palomar has allowed it to be a stepping stone from homelessness.

To read the whole story, head to the link in bio.

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05/09/2026

Longtime friends and Santa Cruz residents Jeremy Stone and Jay Brown were spurred to action by the outpouring of support for The Catalyst Nightclub when plans were announced to redevelop it into condos. This week, they launched a website to gather pledges from residents who are interested in buying the property — though it isn’t listed for sale.

In the first 48 hours since posting the website, more than 1,100 people pledged more than $540,000 to save The Catalyst.

The two said they plan to meet with The Catalyst business manager and with the property owner that plans to develop the building. If the developer isn’t open to selling the building, Stone and Brown said they may try to channel the energy into a different building purchase or community space.



Read the whole story at the link in bio or at santacruzlocal.org

05/08/2026

Fruition Brewery de Watsonville fue nombrada la “Mejor Cervecería de pequeña producción de 2026” en los premios Best of Craft Beer Award, una competencia nacional que celebra a las cervecerías independientes más destacadas. Fruition incorpora ingredientes locales como yuzu y miel en sus cervezas, y su cervecería en Watsonville se ha convertido en un punto de encuentro para grupos y eventos comunitarios. Fidel M. Soto, de Noticias Watsonville, visitó la cervecería.

Fruition Brewery in Watsonville was named the 2026 Small-Size Brewery of the Year at the Best of Craft Beer Awards, a national competition celebrating standout independent brewers. Fruition incorporates local ingredients like yuzu and honey into its beers, and its taproom in Watsonville has become a gathering place for community groups and events. Noticias Watsonville’s Fidel M. Soto visited the brewery.

05/01/2026

Reporter B. Sakura Cannestra broke the story that Cabrillo College’s dental hygiene program was recently placed on a three year probation. Violations uncovered by a visit from the state board in February found the program to be severely understaffed and as a result, administrators were changing students’ grades to advance them to the next course.

The program is highly regarded and needed, with Cabrillo having the only dental hygiene program in the Monterey Bay region. There are already reports of a lack of hygienists available in the area, and with this probation comes a new wave of worry for the future of the program and access to oral healthcare.

🎥 by: B. Sakura Cannestra & Luna Cortes.

Read the full story at the link in our bio.

03/13/2026

The 14th annual Watsonville Film Festival has returned. Find the full program schedule and more information

02/21/2026

Months ahead of the anticipated layoffs of dozens of mental health staff in Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the fallout from the cuts is already being felt by students.

The PVUSD board of trustees voted to eliminate nearly 160 positions in December, including dozens of teachers, 15 counselors, 33 behavior technicians, and all 13 mental health clinicians in the district.

Three mental health clinicians have already found jobs elsewhere, leaving the district scrambling to find care for students as remaining clinicians take on burdensome caseloads to fill the gap. Speaking publicly for the first time, the clinicians told Santa Cruz Local that the highest-needs students may suffer the most.

“It’s been awful,” said Aine Kahn, a mental health clinician who treats kids with special needs. “Some of them are taking it OK and understanding, and for some of them, it’s really destabilizing,” adding that it can be especially challenging for students with autism.

While it’s possible the board will rescind some of the layoffs — the district has until May 15 to decide — Kahn said she can’t take that chance.

Read the whole story at santacruzlocal.org and at the link in bio.

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02/11/2026

Do you know any early-career reporters in Santa Cruz County or the Pajaro Valley? Please share!

Santa Cruz Local is recruiting for a News Reporter through the California Local News Fellowship.

Pay is $60K-$65K with University of California benefits. The position starts in September.

The deadline to apply is March 5. Read more and apply:

This is a two-year program of the California Local News Fellowship starting in September 2026. This program is meant for early-career reporters who are committed to a career in journalism. You’ll work full time in Santa Cruz Local’s newsroom and receive training. *If you’re worried you might n...

01/14/2026

The Santa Cruz City Council voted to end its contract with Atlanta, Georgia-based Flock Safety for automated license plate readers. The move comes after local immigrant rights and privacy advocates have pressured the city for months over concerns the technology has been used to track down immigrants. The council left the door open to finding another contractor for the technology. Read the story and find more reporting at santacruzlocal.org.