Free Republic

An adult mastodon tooth that was spotted at Rio Del Mar Beach near Aptos Creek is now in the hands of paleontologists in Santa Cruz. The foot-long tooth was found by Jennifer Schuh while walking the beach on Friday. Not knowing what it was, she snapped a few photos, posted them on social media and left it on the sand. That caught the attention of paleontologist Wayne Thompson at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. "He called me and told me what it was and I rushed back, but it was gone. I was crushed," Schuh said. "I knew...

Paleontologists are busy this Memorial Day weekend trying to find a tooth in Santa Cruz County that dates back to the Ice Ages. An unknown beach-goer picked up a giant mastodon tooth that first surfaced on an Aptos beach Friday. Now scientists are hoping that the scientifically significant tooth will be returned to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History where it can be studied and displayed for the public as a piece of ancient history. US Census breakdown: The largest racial group in each Bay Area county The 1-foot-long tooth was originally spotted by a beach-goer strolling through the...

A viral video shows a man "surfing" flooded streets after a recent California storm originated in Aptos. A category 3 atmospheric river struck the Central Coast of California, flooding areas of Santa Cruz County. Residents in the Rio Del Mar neighborhood in Aptos woke up to major flooding on Tuesday from relentless rain pouring down overnight. But for some people, the flooding created an opportunity. The video shows an SUV dragging a man on a surfboard through the flooded streets. Watch the video in the video player above.

A federal arraignment is set next week for a former Aptos elementary school recreation director accused of colluding with a Tiburon baby sitter to gain supervisory roles to create and exchange child pornography, according to court documents.

...So YOU thought KELO was abusive...??? KLEPTOCRACY 201 - Today's Lesson Today, class, we will learn how to exercise 'eminent domain' without that pesky need to pay the owner ANYTHING for the property... ...and using this new method, you can not only strong-arm the property away from its rightful owner, but you STILL get to keep shaking down the "property owner" for all those great  PROPERTY TAXES on the parcel, AS WELL! ...WHAT could be BETTER than THAT???!!! ...It's a Kleptocrat's DREAM!!!

Excerpt - In what police describe as a "probable" suicide leap, a prominent Monterey Bay Area attorney fell at least nine floors to his death at the Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay in Seaside the morning before Christmas. Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Sunday, officers found the body of Aptos attorney Paul Sanford in the west end of the hotel lobby, where he had landed on a large ventilation grate. Police Capt. Steve Cercone said horrified guests were eating breakfast in the atrium at the time, and a number of witnesses saw Sanford fall from somewhere between the 9th and 12th...