Santa Cruz County has California’s fastest-growing senior population, raising questions about housing, affordability, youth culture and the city’s changing identity.
DNA profiles Dennis Bartok, the new executive director of The 418 Project, whose life in film, avant-garde art and cultural programming could reshape Santa Cruz’s creative scene.
Elizabeth Borelli explores how Santa Cruz County farmers’ markets offer fresh, local superfoods—from berries and mushrooms to beans, olive oil and dark chocolate.
Santa Cruz writer Wallace Baine’s debut novel, Founding Daughter, imagines a startling alternate history in which the Declaration of Independence’s most famous ideals come not from Thomas Jefferson, but from a brilliant teenage servant girl with everything at stake.
Santa Cruz County is getting ready for the 2026 World Cup with beachside watch parties, youth soccer clinics, restaurant fan zones, MAH events, Watsonville tournaments and a massive Main Beach celebration beneath the Giant Dipper.
With the 2026 World Cup arriving in North America, Thomas Brew argues that soccer’s beauty, global reach and democratic spirit make it worth watching—even for Santa Cruz fans who haven’t caught the fever yet.
Dusty Baker returns to Santa Cruz with “Crossroads,” a memoir that follows his journey from the Monterey Pop Festival and Hank Aaron’s mentorship to the World Series, the high five and a lifetime of trusting his feelings.
When The Salty Otter used AI to help shape its logo, the backlash became part of a larger Santa Cruz debate over art, technology, community anger and what we still owe each other in an uncertain future.
