Written by Nolan Alisago The trial of the century has nearly begun, with all the jurors seated and opening arguments for State vs Derek Chauvin scheduled for Monday, March 29th. The eyes of the world fall on Minnesota once again, nearly ten months since the murder of George Floyd and the beginning of the global … More Officer Derek Chauvin Faces Trial After the Murder of George Floyd

Written by Skylar Shipp (News Writer) The effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom has become more prevalent as the pandemic drags on, and has managed to garner 1,871,573 verified signatures according to the recall website. This number of signatures meets the requirements necessary to trigger the recall, meaning that Newsom will be the second governor … More Efforts to Recall Governor Gavin Newsom Increase

Written by Konnor Long (News Writer) Santa Cruz County programs currently hold 600 more homeless individuals than it was able to last March. At its surface, it seems that Santa Cruz County has greatly improved its infrastructure — but many community members fear the controversial new ordinances that would limit the freedom of homeless individuals … More Homeless People in Santa Cruz County Face Relocation

Written by Lucas Murawsky (News Writer) As vaccines continue to be distributed, many states are seeing a reduction in Covid cases, and Santa Cruz County is one of the many counties that is seeing a big drop in cases over the past few weeks. With this significant drop in cases, comes a big outcome such … More Santa Cruz Boardwalk Plans on Reopening

Written by Daniel Maloney (News Writer) With a new $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill being signed into law by President Biden, many are wondering how much they may be getting in stimulus, and what else is in the package. One of the most important things for run-of-the-mill people is the new $1,400 stimulus check, and … More A Deeper Look into the $1.9 Trillion Covid Relief Bill

Written by Quinn Bourret (News Writer) The Vatican has issued a decree officially banning Catholic priests from blessing gay marriage. The decree, signed by the generally liberal Pope Francis, has brought both surprise and disagreement over the issue of homosexuality and the Catholic church. The decision, issued on the 14th early this March, has brought … More Vatican Issues Decree Banning Catholic Priests from Blessing Gay Marriage

Written by Angela Landes (News Writer) Last November, city manager Martin Bernal issued an executive order to evict the unhoused people living at San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz, citing needles, voluminous garbage, damage of city property, and lawn damage among other things. During protests, blockades, and major public outcry during this attempted eviction, the … More Federal Court Decision On City’s Restraining Order Postponed

Written by Makoa Ho’opai (News Writer) A video of a San Francisco woman went viral after being seen coughing on her uber driver. and also allegedly pulled his mask off. driver, Subhakar Khadka, a south Asian man says he believes he got targeted because of his race after picking up the three women on San … More Video of Woman Assaulting Uber Driver Goes Viral

Written by Konnor Long (News Writer) In a statement made on Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo insists that he will not resign from office following his sexual harassment scandal. A team of independent investigators has been appointed to conduct the sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Cuomo. This team was hired by Letitia James,  the … More New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Faces Sexual Harassment Allegations – Insists That he Will not Resign

Written by Konnor Long (News Writer) On Sunday, February 28th, a group of over 20 mask-less individuals took to the streets alongside Pacific Avenue, protesting citywide mandates that require citizens to wear masks inside of and in proximity to businesses in the downtown area. This protest comes just eleven days after an unsurfaced video went viral … More Mask-less Group Continues to Protest Mask Mandates in Santa Cruz

Written by Angela Landes (News Writer) On February 23, the Santa Cruz City Council held their first reading of a new “Outdoor Living Ordinance” that is to be voted on soon, spearheaded partially by local police chief Andrew “Andy” Mills. Among other things, this ordinance would make it illegal to have an outdoor shelter such … More Local “Outdoor Living Ordinance” Threatens Unhoused People With Criminalization in Santa Cruz

Written by Nolan Alisago (News Writer)      Despite warnings from both the Biden administration and public health officials, states across the country are dropping mask mandates and allowing for 100% reopening. Even though case numbers are falling and vaccinations are rising, scientists fear this type of reopening could cause another wave of cases that could spread … More Texas Reopens During Pandemic Despite Warnings

Written by Quinlan Bourret (News Writer) Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package has been passed in the Senate and has also passed in the Democrat-controlled House, Biden will be signing it within two weeks. Known as the American Rescue Plan, the package will provide $1,400 stimulus checks for all Americans that make less than $75,000 a … More $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Package Passed in the House and Senate

Written by Kaherdin Clohan Bonnet (News Writer) Due to the incredibly large voter turnout in the recent election that resulted in Joe Biden becoming president and winning over several normally red states, Georgia has started to try and restrict voting rights. They’re attempting to increase the difficulty of voting by mail, and if they succeed … More Will Several Republican States Begin Restricting Voting Rights?

Written by Daniel Maloney (News Writer) In the past month, countless protests and other uprisings have occurred in Myanmar, but many may wonder what the cause of this is. Well firstly, the protests are from a successful coup committed by Myanmar’s military, overthrowing the democratic government and once again putting the small Asian country under … More Uprisings in Myanmar Continue

Written by Nolan Alisago (News Writer) Strictly online learning is coming to an end as SLVUSD releases its plan to safely bring students back on campus. With an abundance of caution, a hybrid model will begin to be phased in starting with Pre-K, Kindergarten, and K-5 Special Education on March 16, 2021. The rollout, which … More SLVUSD Rolls out a Plan to Bring Students Back on Campus Starting in Spring

Written by Beckett Glass (News Editor) The San Lorenzo Valley School District (SLVUSD), as well as the other school districts in Santa Cruz County, have been undertaking efforts to vaccinate all staff including teachers, administrators, and support staff. In the past few months, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (Santa Cruz COE has been … More SLVUSD Begins Efforts to Vaccinate all School Staff

Written by Konnor Long (News Writer) On February 17th, a video went viral which showed a group of mask-less shoppers collectively entering a Santa Cruz Trader Joe’s against the will of employees and other shoppers. The events gained particular notoriety after a video was filmed and uploaded to YouTube by one of the participants of … More Mask-less Group Storms Local Trader Joe’s in Santa Cruz

Written by Angela Landes (News Writer) The intersection of Highway 1 and River St. has been a historic area of city response to the housing crisis for many years now. In the past, the famous Ross Camp (which sheltered approximately 300 people) at a time was swept and bulldozed after complaints from businesses and other … More The City of Santa Cruz Prepares to Expand Highway 1 – Planning to Evict Unhoused Residents

Written by Daniel Maloney (News Writer) With an upcoming $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill going to the main floor of the Senate soon, many people are wondering what is in this bill, and how much they may be getting for their stimulus check. Well firstly, the checks going out to the public will be $1,400, … More An Update on Third Stimulus Check From the United States Government During the Pandemic

Written by Kaherdin Clohan Bonnet (News Writer) On February 13th, 2021, Donald Trump was acquitted of criminal charges but was still found guilty of inciting the act of domestic terrorism on the Capitol Building. There were two hundred and thirty-two votes for him being guilty and one hundred and ninety-seven votes for his innocence with … More Former President Donald Trump Acquitted of Criminal Charges After Impeachment

Written by Lucas Murawsky (News Writer) As multiple winter storms slam the eastern United States, Texas has been by far hit the hardest, with power outages, well below freezing temperatures, unhealthy water, and very difficult travel conditions. In the past week, Texas has had more than 4 million power outages and over 13 million boil … More Major Winter Storm Sweeps Across the Country and Devastates Texas

Written by Quinn Bourret (News Writer) The future of Afghanistan is currently being determined in meetings between Afghanistan, the US, and the Islamic terrorist group, the Taliban. According to a previous agreement, the U.S. is to leave the country. But with a new president, that agreement may not be upheld, and the future of the … More Afghanistan Peace Talks Are Underway, but may not Continue Under the new Presidency

Written by Makoa Ho’opai (News Writer) Recently the Santa Cruz County officials announced that access to the COVID-19 vaccine will be expanded to workers in the education and childcare, agriculture, and food industries. The eligibility was said to be based on occupation definitions from the California Department of Public Health and also required proof of … More A Covid-19 Update in Santa Cruz County

Written by Konnor Long (News Writer) California is facing devastation as officials shine a light on the poor vaccine roll-out plan. As of this last Tuesday, California is expected to pass New York’s death toll pertaining to COVID-19 related deaths. This projection came quickly after official counts put California at 44,494 deaths, and it is … More What is Happening With California’s Vaccine Roll-out Plan?

Written by Lucas Murawsky (News Writer) When wildfire tears through an area like Santa Cruz County it leaves behind the danger for debris flow, and that danger came to life when an atmospheric river was forecasted to dump upwards to 10 inches of rain on the CZU lighting complex fire burn scar, well-exceeding debris flow … More Debris Flow Danger Causes Evacuations in Santa Cruz County

Written by Konnor Long (News Writer) It’s been over a month since the Capitol Building riots have taken place, marking it the first time in over 200 years since the Capitol building had been trespassed. Wednesday, January 6th, hundreds of pro-Trump and right-wing protesters stormed the capital in an attempt to disrupt the institutional Counting … More The Aftermath of the Domestic Terrorism Attacks on the Capitol Building

Written by Kaherdin Clohan Bonnet (News Writer) Joe Biden’s been making lots of executive orders, leading to plenty of positive changes. The second Biden was in office, he spent no time dilly-dallying and got right down to business, fixing and or removing Trump’s laws and legislations as well as creating some of his own. As … More A Breakdown of President Joe Biden’s Many Executive Orders Since Taking Office

Written by Angela Landes (News Writer) In a lawsuit against the City of Santa Cruz (put forward by the Santa Cruz Homeless Union and other plaintiffs), concerns about the safety of the local houseless community in the event of a sweep, if brought up. City Manager Martin Bernal had issued an executive order last November … More Federal Judge Rules Against Santa Cruz City, Preventing Eviction of Houseless Camp

Written by Nolan Alisago (News Writer) A nation-wide uprising threatens the newborn military junta of Myanmar, which is struggling to suppress the anti-coup protests across the nation. While pepper spray, rubber bullets, and water cannons are being used presently, the nation’s past military massacres and violent tactics hang thick in the air. The fate of … More Devastating Uprisings Break out in Myanmar

Written by Skylar Shipp (News Writer) The effort to replace the portrait of Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill began in 2016, under the Obama administration but it was put on hold during the Trump presidency. With the new Biden administration, the effort has been restarted. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “The Treasury … More Biden Administration Moves to put Harriet Tubman on the Front of the Twenty Dollar Bill

Written by Quinn Bourret (News Writer) Long time Putin critic, anti-corruption activist, and opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested on January 17 when he returned to Russia, sparking protests across the country. Navalny has opposed Putin and Putin’s United Russia party for well over a decade. His unbreaking demeanor and the support from some members … More Alexei Navalny – an Anti-Corruption Activist – Arrested in Russia

Written by Daniel Maloney (News Writer) One of the newest of SpaceX’s prototype rockets launched successfully on Tuesday, February 2nd, but, like its predecessor, failed to stick the landing. Starship prototype Serial Number 9, or SN9 soared to an altitude of over six miles, almost as high as commercial jets do. Everything was going as … More SpaceX has a Successful Rocket Launch