Free Republic

SANTA CRUZ — New details have emerged around organs found mysteriously discarded on Ocean Street last week, though several questions remained unanswered. Santa Cruz resident Ar’Mani McCoy told the Sentinel that on the morning of Dec. 15, she was returning home from a dentist appointment via a stop at Ferrell’s. Along the way, she spotted smeared blood below a heart, lying on the sidewalk. Nearby was a crushed paper cup and a plastic grocery store bag filled with blood and what turned out to have a liver inside. McCoy said her first response was that what she was seeing must...

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Members of Santa Cruz Equity Collab gathered on Friday on the Santa Cruz County Superior Courthouse steps following the sentencing of two men charged with defacing the black lives matter mural in front of the Santa Cruz City Hall in July of 2021. The two men plead no contest and were sentenced to 90 days in the county jail, and ordered to attend diversity and sensitivity training along with paying more than $19,000 in restitution and two years probation.

After more than a decade of restoration and preparation, stalled by the effects of the CZU Lightning Complex wildfire, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, in collaboration with its partners, will soon open a new, multiuse trail system in the San Vicente Redwoods. “We’re going to have trails for hikers and mountain bikers and dog walkers and equestrians,” said Sarah Newkirk. “All of this is embedded in a property that also has threatened endangered species, a commercial timber harvest and community based fire risk reduction activities.” The 7.3 mile trail system, which opens to the public Dec 3, will...

A rare red-footed booby was spotted at the Santa Cruz Wharf. The tropical bird rarely migrated this far, leaving many in awe that it is here on the Central Coast. “We only expect to see them in places like Hawaii and Baja California is probably as close as they normally live," said Ryan Carle, ecologist with Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge. "This is about as far of the tropical range they get." It's not clear why it is here. "We can't ask it questions of why it showed up here, but sometimes birds get sides led for whatever reason,” said Kevin Condon,...

A dog and a sea lion went viral for their game of catch after it was recorded at a beach in Santa Cruz over the weekend. Dave Nelson was playing fetch with his dog Moe at the beach when he noticed a sea lion was following them up and down the beach as they played. "It came all the way up to the beach and Moe went out and sniffed, and the Sea Lion gave a couple loving barks," Nelson told KSBW 8. Nelson said that is when he started to record the fun. The dog and the sea lion...

A judge Monday morning is set to determine the value of a downtown city street painting of the words “Black Lives Matter,” which was defaced a year ago.

SANTA CRUZ – Much was discussed but no decision was made on Thursday by Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Syda Cogliati regarding restitution for the vandalized Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Santa Cruz. Members of the public were hard-pressed to find an open seat in the courtroom where attorney arguments continued for the two men accused of defacing the Center Street mural last summer. Brandon Bochat, 21, and Hagan Warner, 20, were arrested last July on suspicion of felony vandalism and were later charged with an additional hate crime enhancement and misdemeanor reckless driving.

A couple in Sana Cruz was arrested on Saturday after verbally and physically assaulting a gay couple along Blackburn Street. It happened at about 11:30 a.m. when two men were walking their dog and crossed path with a man and a woman who were also were walking their pet. The dogs suddenly began barking and fighting and things then escalated between the pet owners, according to police. The suspect is accused of yelling homophobic epithets at the gay couple and assaulted one of them.

Warm weather attracts hundreds of beach-goers to the Central Coast to cool off in the Monterey Bay. Lifeguards are putting out the usual warnings when entering the water but there are also some hazards on beaches that they're warning the public about. Aaron Cummings of San Jose beat the traffic over Highway 17 to escape the heat on Thursday. "I'm out early. No fog, so we knew it was going to be hot today that's why we headed over here," Cummings said. Hundreds of people fill beaches throughout Santa Cruz County with the same plan to cool down. There are...

The California Sixth District Court of Appeal has issued a stay order in the Michael Cheek case. The stay order is a victory for Bonny Doon residents who opposed the release of the 69-year-old into their community. Cheek was convicted of two separate rapes, including an attack on a 21-year-old woman in the Seabright area in 1980. Bonny Doon residents and Santa Cruz County leaders including Supervisor Ryan Coonerty said the home where Cheek was slated to live was too close to a school, a park, and too remote should law enforcement need to respond quickly. Under Wednesday's order, this...

Roaring Camp Railroad is known for its holiday and beach train rides to the Boardwalk and through Redwood Forests in Felton. Now the operator of those excursions is concerned they could come to a screeching halt. "What I want to get out is that Roaring Camp Beach Train is really not being threatened," said Santa Cruz County supervisor and Regional Transportation Commission member, Manu Koenig. The RTC Commission is considering a process called reverse abandonment. It could remove Roaring Camp's right to use the line to transport freight which the company fears could ultimately put them out of business. "It...

The Omicron variant ushers us in our third COVID-19 year with 62% of U.S. citizens fully vaccinated. And yet 30%+ of the U.S. population keep COVID-19 thriving because they feel their political or religious rights are violated, worse yet, dogma leads them to believe COVID-19 does not represent a threat – to them. We have reached an inflection point where the vaccinated majority are held hostage by the dubious rights of the unvaccinated minority. Lucky for us freedom of speech and religion is not a protected absolute in our constitution when it comes to public safety. We need to mandate...

Santa Cruz County is seeing a spike in fentanyl overdoses. Health officials say they are up 66% compared to last year. It's been an alarming surge that is impacting the entire community. The reasons behind those increases can be everything from depression during this pandemic, to fentanyl becoming more available to the community. "I had addictions. I was doing all of the same stuff that you hear about." This 55-year-old man didn't want us to use his real name, so we'll call him Bill. Six years after his mother died, he turned to heroin. While living homeless he encountered people...

The health officer order even requires masks to be worn in private settings, including homes, when people who are not from the household are present.

Global supply chain problems have threatened to dim a holiday light display that is a community favorite. Pat Farley starts shopping for Christmas decorations early for his front yard holiday attraction, Farley Christmas Wonderland. Advertisement "Christmas. Like this past Christmas Day, I ordered a bunch of trees and some of them I got and then some of them I haven't seen, and I'm not going to see them this year,” said Farley. He placed orders for Christmas trees in December 2020, some haven't shown up yet. He ordered other decorations in January 2021 but says it took until November 2021...

California State Parks will be doing more than a week of prescribed burns at Wilder Ranch State Park in Santa Cruz. The burns will take place between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. starting Wednesday, Oct. 27, and will run through Friday, Nov. 5. Proactive monitoring and patrol will continue throughout the burns. The burns are not only to reduce wildfire risk, but to enhance the health of the grassland by removing dead brush, leaves, and roots, which will, in turn, restore essential nutrients to the soil. People throughout Monterey Bay can expect to see smoke lingering until the burns are...

Children remain at the center of protests over state vaccination mandates. Parents staged protests last week and even disrupted a Santa Cruz County Office of Education Board meeting; the board has taken steps so it doesn't happen again. Advertisement A virtual town hall meeting is scheduled for Tuesday night. It will provide information to Spanish-speaking parents who have children 5-to-11 years old now eligible for the vaccine. The superintendent doesn't anticipate protests but there will be extra measures in place for future school board meetings. Protestors turned out last Monday at the Santa Cruz Clock tower to say, no to...

The 2020 Santa Cruz County crop report reveals the impact the pandemic had on some of the largest growers. In total, the production value of Santa Cruz County agriculture grew in 2020 by 1.7%, or more than $10,700,000. Strawberries remained the top crop of the county, with an estimated 2,137 planted acres, worth $193,911,000. Raspberries took the number two spot. In total, the report said that berries saw a 6.4% overall increase in value compared to 2019. But, hot weather, wildfire smoke and the pandemic all hampered agricultural production of apples, wine grapes and flowers. Apples saw a 46% decrease...

Cabrillo College dropped 413 students from in-person learning on campus after they failed to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. About a third of them were reinstated after they showed proof of vaccination or exemption. Those students who were dropped can go through a further appeals process and continue their education with online courses they're already registered in. The deadline to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or exemption came and went last Wednesday. The community college has a roster system where instructors can check who hasn't complied with the mandate. "If a student is enrolled in a class and it's a...

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Monday that a body found Sunday evening at Laguna Creek State Beach in Santa Cruz is that of Cash Bradley Paul Ebright. The 17-year-old disappeared while walking on the rocks on the south side of the beach last Monday, September 20th. California State Parks, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, CalFire, the California Highway Patrol, and Santa Cruz Fire all responded. State Parks led the investigation and continued to look for him last week. Investigators say his body was found close to where he was pulled into the water. Ebright attended San Lorenzo...