"Everyone I know is baking cookies this month," writes Sentinel food columnist Donna Maurillo. "If you haven’t started yet, here are some easy and reasonably fast versions. If you have children or grandchildren running around, they can help with some of these."

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/12/09/donna-maurillo-food-for-thought-ready-for-some-cookies/

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Placed in different divisions for the Central Coast Section girls volleyball playoffs, Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League rivals Harbor High and Santa Cruz are again competing for the same prize in the CIF NorCal Regional playoffs.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/11/10/harbor-scotts-valley-and-santa-cruz-ready-for-cif-norcal-regional-playoffs-local-roundup/

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SANTA CRUZ — Scotts Valley High’s football team turned in several big plays in the second half of its playoff-clinching win over St. Francis to close the regular season Saturday in front of a capacity crowd at Harbor High. Running back Colin Murphy sprinted through the heart of the Sharks’ defense for a 63-yard touchdown […]

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/11/09/scotts-valley-doubles-up-st-francis-to-secure-playoff-berth-in-pcal-finale-high-school-football-roundup/

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Flowers bloom vibrantly in South County along Green Valley Road between the intersections of Pioneer and Casserly roads. Small pockets of roadside color are stilling popping as we head into the dormant season for many varieties of flowers. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/11/09/photo-you-belong-among-the-wildflowers/

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With one loss, the Aztecs are in contention for a berth in the College Football Playoff. But their path is extremely narrow.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/11/02/wilner-hotline-college-football-pac-12-power-rankings-san-diego-state-boise-states-cfp/

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WATSONVILLE — At Tuesday’s meeting, the Watsonville City Council will vote on whether to expand its contract with Flock Safety, which provides automated license plate readers to the city. Watsonville first funded the license plate readers in 2023, approving $140,000 for 20 cameras and a two-year contract with Flock. Now, the City Council is voting […]

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/07/watsonville-city-council-to-vote-on-expanding-license-plate-reader-program/

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The best weeknight meals come together with minimal prep and a fairly short cooking time.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/04/back-to-school-time-is-easy-with-these-4-no-stress-dinners/

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Why after thousands of years do people continue to create and attend dramatic works of art? What is it about theater that is so powerful and compelling? Last weekend, All About Theatre’s new production of the musical play “Spring Awakening” held many answers to these questions. For more than two hours, the stage was overflowing […]

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/03/all-about-theatre-presents-daring-production-of-spring-awakening/

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Affected systems aren’t fully back online yet — with the company noting that it encountered a problem with its initial remedy.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/07/10/microsoft-outlook-outage-issue/

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Among the report’s central findings are that there are 2.28 million immigrants in California without protected legal status and that deporting these immigrants would cost the California economy $278.4 billion annually.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/07/05/trump-deportations-california-economy/

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"Owls, Omens and Oracles," Valerie June's sixth album released in April, saw her working with M. Ward, an indie folk singer with a large resume that includes the supergroup Monsters of Folk, featuring members of My Morning Jacket and Bright Eyes, and being one half of the duo She & Him alongside actress Zooey Deschanel.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/06/11/valerie-june-to-bring-summer-warmth-to-rio-theatre-stage/

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Dwarf car ace Dylan Shrum made his trek from Lincoln to Watsonville pay off by scoring a $1,000 triumph during the inaugural Joe Brechel Memorial at Ocean Speedway on Friday.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/06/07/dylan-shrum-fends-off-joey-lingron-for-joe-brechel-memorial-victory-ocean-speedway/

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Akbar Bey, 30, worked with another ex-colleague to rob an armored car in San Leandro, but ended up killing the driver in the process.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/04/07/ex-east-bay-armored-car-guard-agreed-to-serve-life-for-murdering-colleague/

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The summit is staged to ensure that Cabrillo's programs plan for the future of the workforce and ensure that graduates have the skills and competencies for the demands and expectations of tomorrow’s workplaces. Lunch for the attendees was prepared by the college's Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management students.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/03/14/photo-cabrillo-college-holds-2025-career-education-summit/

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Michelle Malone has been at this for a while. For three decades, the Atlanta-born, award-winning singer-guitarist — who also plays a mean slide — has been writing, recording and touring. She returns to the West Coast next week and will be at The Ugly Mug Café on March 13.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/03/05/americana-songwriter-guitarist-michelle-malone-slides-back-into-santa-cruz-county/

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This rich chocolate pudding uses just one bowl and takes less than five minutes to make -- and it's plant-based.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/02/05/quick-cook-five-minute-mexican-chocolate-pudding-plant-based/

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The colors of a pastel sunset are reflected in the surf zone at Sunny Cove in Live Oak as a scavenger employs a metal detector at low tide to hunt for buried treasure. 

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/01/31/photo-beachgoer-searches-for-treasure-with-metal-detector-at-sunny-cove-in-live-oak/

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Aptos native Nikki Hilitz, 30, blazed in the women's 3,000 run at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University on Friday.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/01/31/aptos-native-nikki-hiltz-blazes-to-3000-win-at-john-thomas-terrier-classic-in-boston-track-and-field/

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WATSONVILLE — A recommendation by city staff to deny a special use permit for a Quick Quack Car Wash on East Lake Avenue will return to the Watsonville Planning Commission at its Tuesday meeting, having previously tabled the discussion in November. In December 2023, the city received a special use permit from Vance Shannon, on […]

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/01/06/car-wash-discussion-to-return-to-watsonville-planning-commission/

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This quick, homemade take on pho -- a faux pho, if you will -- uses key aromatics in a store-bought broth to get a warming noodle soup on the table quickly.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/01/06/taste-food-this-quick-riff-on-a-vietnamese-classic-is-a-faux-pho/

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With its caramelized onions and Alpine cheeses, this easy white pizza is perfect for whatever you need, from simple supper to party appetizer.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2024/12/10/tastefood-pizza-to-the-rescue-during-this-frantic-holiday-season/

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The UC Santa Cruz women's soccer team scored twice in the first half and held on to stun No. 2 nationally ranked Christopher Newport 2-0 to claim its first Coast-To-Coast Conference Tournament championship at Lower East Field in Santa Cruz on Sunday.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2024/11/10/ucsc-womens-soccer-pulls-massive-upset-qualifies-for-ncaa-d-iii-tournament-local-roundup/

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NHL: Jake Walman will be scratched Tuesday when the San Jose Sharks face the Columbus Blue Jackets at SAP Center

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2024/11/05/san-jose-sharks-to-scratch-jake-walman-vs-columbus-blue-jackets/

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Lewis Tree Service’s Jonah Vogel rises above Bay Street in Santa Cruz to prune and do other periodic maintenance on a large Canary Island date palm. The species, Phoenix canariensis, is a flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Northwestern Africa and it is a relative […]

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2024/10/28/photo-pruning-a-pretty-palm/

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Mischa Eovaldi sends her ball down a lane at Boardwalk Bowl Saturday afternoon during the annual Strike Out Against Cancer fundraiser for WomenCARE. The event raised more than $50,000 for WomenCARE, a Santa Cruz County nonprofit that provides cancer advocacy, resources, education, and support to women, their families and friends, and healthcare practitioners at each […]

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2024/10/27/photo-bowling-for-charity/

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Once thought to be a rare occurrence, researchers at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute detected an unprecedented number of sperm whales in Monterey Bay using underwater microphones.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2024/10/27/elusive-sperm-whales-found-deep-in-monterey-bay-by-monterey-bay-aquarium-research-institute-researchers/

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Jordan Renteria had two touchdown receptions on offense and made two takeaways on defense, and the San Lorenzo Valley High football team remained unbeaten with its 41-0 win over Santa Cruz on Saturday.

https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2024/10/26/jordan-renteria-scores-twice-makes-two-takeaways-as-slv-moves-to-8-0-with-shutout-of-santa-cruz-high-school-football-roundup/

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