Last year's combined death toll attributed to homicides, traffic crashes and suicides countywide could not quite reach the number of lives claimed by fentanyl-related overdoses, authorities shared in an announcement Monday.
The feeling in the courtyard at Tabasa Gardens was one of jubilation as community leaders celebrated the opening of Watsonville's newest housing project.
An estimated 30 to 40 people were cleared from a Harvey West Park homeless encampment this week, an effort to be funded retroactively through a state grant.
Cases of a bacterial infection known as Shigellosis have been reported in the county and prompted the relocation and possible postponement of an event in Harvey West Park that was planned for Saturday.
"This year’s grades are definitely worth celebrating," said Tara Leonard of the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency. "But there is still important work to be done to eliminate the deadly impacts of tobacco on both human and environmental health."