Santa Cruz County
![The Supreme Court’s decision on homelessness will test a shelter system that’s full of problems – and lacking accountability. The Supreme Court’s decision on homelessness will test a shelter system that’s full of problems – and lacking accountability.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/032223_SD_Encampment-Ban_KC_CM_23.webp?w=132)
California passed a law to fix unsafe homeless shelters. Cities and counties are ignoring it
The Supreme Court’s decision on homelessness will test a shelter system that’s full of problems...
![Apple has launched a "Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund" in a push to bolster affordable housing. Apple has launched a "Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund" in a push to bolster affordable housing.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/hypatia-h_5594099b3dfbcbbaf9ac340369c1d2fa-h_8062e8f39b4d775a2f93bd001650c2f3.jpg?w=140)
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Apple affordable housing push helps Bay Area projects
Apple has launched a "Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund" in a push to bolster affordable...
![Bad Animal was co-founded by a guy who ran an underground college in a used bookstore and sells rare books for up to $40,000. Bad Animal was co-founded by a guy who ran an underground college in a used bookstore and sells rare books for up to $40,000.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MAG-L-BADANIMAL-07XX-09.jpg?w=132)
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Bad Animal: The radical, Dionysian bookshop and natural-wine bar in Santa Cruz
Bad Animal was co-founded by a guy who ran an underground college in a used...
![The rate hike would affect more than 350,000 policyholders. The rate hike would affect more than 350,000 policyholders.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SJM-L-STATEFARM-0702-1.jpg?w=131)
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Here’s where Allstate wants to raise California homeowners’ insurance rates
The rate hike would affect more than 350,000 policyholders.
![California's new bill prohibits "forced outing" policies in school districts, which required notifying parents when students used a different name or pronoun than what's on their birth certificate, without the student's consent. California's new bill prohibits "forced outing" policies in school districts, which required notifying parents when students used a different name or pronoun than what's on their birth certificate, without the student's consent.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sjm-wsom-State-of-the-State_198150102.jpg?w=132)
Gov. Newsom signs first-in-nation bill banning schools’ transgender notification policies
California's new bill prohibits "forced outing" policies in school districts, which required notifying parents when...
![El Cerrito’s Rodney Green Jr., Acalanes’ Davis Diaz drafted to Oakland A’s. Foothill’s Matt Ager, Los Altos’ Aaron Parker and more local players taken in middle rounds. El Cerrito’s Rodney Green Jr., Acalanes’ Davis Diaz drafted to Oakland A’s. Foothill’s Matt Ager, Los Altos’ Aaron Parker and more local players taken in middle rounds.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/BNG-L-NCSBASE-0517-14.jpg?w=100)
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MLB Draft 2024: East Bay natives selected by A’s and other local prospects headline Day 2
El Cerrito’s Rodney Green Jr., Acalanes’ Davis Diaz drafted to Oakland A’s. Foothill’s Matt Ager,...
![Nina Simon's debut novel soared up the best-seller lists. Now she's talking inspiration -- from atop a stand-up paddleboard on this Monterey Bay slough. Nina Simon's debut novel soared up the best-seller lists. Now she's talking inspiration -- from atop a stand-up paddleboard on this Monterey Bay slough.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SJM-L-SLOUGHMURDER-4.jpg?w=132)
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Dive into the life (and death) of Elkhorn Slough with “Mother-Daughter Murder Night”
Nina Simon's debut novel soared up the best-seller lists. Now she's talking inspiration -- from...
![And a reader wonders why birds no longer frolic in his backyard birdbath -- a plastic replacement for a heavy cement version that once attracted flocks. And a reader wonders why birds no longer frolic in his backyard birdbath -- a plastic replacement for a heavy cement version that once attracted flocks.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SJM-L-EARTHDAY-04XX-50.jpg?w=138)
Are bothersome Redwood City scrub-jays exacting revenge on homeowners who took down their nest?
And a reader wonders why birds no longer frolic in his backyard birdbath -- a...
!["As the water temperatures are warming, and these warming events are more frequent due to climate change, all kinds of species are migrating away from the equator and heading towards the poles," one marine ecologist told the Sentinel. "As the water temperatures are warming, and these warming events are more frequent due to climate change, all kinds of species are migrating away from the equator and heading towards the poles," one marine ecologist told the Sentinel.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/STC-L-PHSHARKS-0711-01.jpg?w=132)
Summer of the shark: Santa Cruz County cove teems with sharp-toothed juveniles
"As the water temperatures are warming, and these warming events are more frequent due to...
![A line chart showing the COVID positivity rate spiking since in June and early July of 2024. A line chart showing the COVID positivity rate spiking since in June and early July of 2024.](https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/snapshot-1720828167687@2x-e1720828247115.png?w=140)
California’s COVID positivity rate is now just shy of record high from the past 12 months
Statewide, the COVID positivity rate continues to skyrocket.