Month: July 2025

Jeanette Bent

FELTON, Calif. (KION-TV) — The San Lorenzo Valley Water District is partnering with the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County to host a tour of the Olympia Watershed in Felton.

The tour is set to happen from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 12.

It is intended to showcase the recently completed habitat and wildfire resilience project.

The tour is open to the public and will take visitors on a 1.5-mile hike at the Olympia Watershed to learn about the rare sandhills, the watershed and how the project removed invasive plants to reduce the risk of wildfire and enhance habitat.

As a part of the tour, visitors will also learn about the animals and plants that call the watershed home, including several endangered species.

To learn more and register for the free tour, visit www.slvwd.com.

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Jeanette Bent

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — U.C. Santa Cruz announced that the school’s computational media researchers created a series of games designed to help communities build resilience to wildfires.

They say that faced with challenging decisions in the moment of a fire, can have serious impacts on the outcome.

The games invite players to confront stressful topics, initiating individual preparedness and larger dialogues through simulation based on potential real-world emergency scenarios.

The games — Firewise Residents, Firesafe Friends, and Find Your Things — each deal with complex dilemmas asking people to make hard decisions in tough moments.

You can access the games for free by visiting https://ucsc-wildfire-games.itch.io/wildfire-minigames-collection.

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Briana Mathaw

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION) — After an eight-year hiatus, the legendary Hollister Independence Rally is roaring back to life, bringing with it crowds, chrome, and a strong sense of community pride.

As engines thunder through the streets of downtown, both longtime attendees and first-time visitors are celebrating the return of an event many say is woven into the fabric of the city.

“This is so great that the City of Hollister is doing this again after so many years,” Steve Barclay from Chicago said.

“It’s good to be back. I know it was shut down for a few years, so to have it back is good,” Daniel said.

“I was pretty upset about it. It was a staple for so many years,” Albert said.

The event was brought back in large part due to a shift in leadership and the community’s persistent voice. “It’s part of their families, filled with nostalgia and filled with beloved memories. And so we listened to them and brought it back,” Hollister Mayor Roxanne Stephens said.

All across downtown, the familiar sounds of revving engines and live music are filling the air. Attendees say there’s simply nothing quite like it. “We have different runs in Gilroy. They got the burrito run, but nothing quite as significant as this. It’s a good, peaceful way to get the community together to represent and celebrate the history of biker culture,” one rallygoer said.

One of the concerns during the rally’s absence had been safety. In past years, law enforcement had raised red flags over large groups of motorcycle clubs gathering in the area. “In the past, there were a lot of multi gangs or multi bike clubs, I should say, coming in. And so there was a lot of concerns about that,” Gail Rodriguez from Fresno said.

In response, the city brought in a new security contractor and additional law enforcement support to ensure this year’s rally goes smoothly. “We have a large event, so whenever we have a large event, we always have to bring in some extra security,” Roxanne Stephens said. “That’s why we have our contractor and we have some support from a few other law enforcement groups.”

Despite the past concerns, the energy on the streets this weekend is positive and enthusiastic. “I’ve been coming for years and years. Even when they didn’t have events, I’d still show up here. But it’s really nice to see vendors and more public out here. Because I needed it,” Gail Rodriguez said.

Vendors are also feeling the excitement. “We’ve been coming to the event before they canceled it in 2017. We were vending here for over a decade, over ten years,” Pablo Peters said. “Cities like this that are real small areas an event like this definitely helps increase the revenue for the city.”

With live bands, food, custom bikes, and thousands of riders flooding the streets, the rally is not just about motorcycles it’s about reviving a town’s spirit. “This is a moneymaker for them. I know a lot of the vendors, and shopkeepers here were disappointed when it shut down,” Albert said.

“This is going to be huge for the businesses in downtown Hollister. I mean, I go to Sturgis every year and pretty much a lot of the vendors and the shopkeepers there make their entire year’s income from that rally,” Steve Barclay said.

For many, this isn’t just a fun weekend it’s a piece of Hollister’s identity. “It’s real important, especially for motorcyclists and the history of Hollister,” Gail Rodriguez said.

“I really hope that the City of Hollister keeps doing this,” Steve Barclay said.

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Briana Mathaw

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) – A controversial syringe distribution program is back in the spotlight in Santa Cruz County. After being shut down last year, the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County is once again operating its mobile syringe service.

The program has drawn both support and criticism from the community.

“It’s good for public health to help stop the spread of the disease,” one supporter said.

Health officials say the program is designed to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases in the community by providing people with clean, safe supplies.

“It has a major benefit to the community in reducing the infectious diseases that we see transmitted throughout the community by providing people with safer supplies that they can use,” County Deputy Health Officer Karissa LeClair Cortez said.

The return of the mobile program comes at a time when officials say drug use trends are changing.

“We are thankfully seeing in Santa Cruz a shift away from people injecting drugs, for a number of reasons, which is decreasing the amount of syringes that we see,” Cortez said.

Still, public opinion remains split. While some residents view the program as a critical harm reduction tool, others see it as a potential community risk.

“I think because they think it kind of encourages people to use drugs, but I don’t find that to be the case at all,” one supporter said.

“I just think diseases would spread and people would be suffering more if they weren’t to bring it back,” one supporter said.

“People are going to do what they’re going to do. So it’s good to keep them and others safe and see why,” another community member said.

The strategy behind the mobile syringe program is built on the concept of meeting people where they’re at, particularly those dealing with homelessness and substance use.

“Meeting people where they’re at, we know that a number of unhoused people are served by these programs, and I think that the fact that they are able to offer mobile exchange in some locations that we’re not able to is really beneficial,” Cortez said.

The program also aims to reduce the risk of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C by making clean syringes more accessible.

“These types of programs that provide people with clean syringes, in addition to the benefits that it provides by reducing infectious diseases, doesn’t increase the amount of illegal drug use, doesn’t increase the amount of syringe litter in the communities,” Cortez said.

The city is also taking steps to promote safe syringe disposal by offering drop-off boxes for used needles.

“I think folks also having a location that they can go to to exchange syringes really helps expand community safety actually by reducing the number of unsafely disposed syringes in the community,” one resident said.

The overall goal of the program is to protect both individuals and the broader public by minimizing harm.

“We want to make sure that we’re minimizing the amount of harm that’s happening to people and also to the community as a means of bringing people into care,” Cortez said.

Santa Cruz Police Chief Bernie Escalante issued a statement acknowledging both the value and the challenges that come with the program. He said,

“I appreciate the Mobile Syringe Program’s dedication to harm reduction and the services they provide. Like many public health initiatives, their work intersects with broader community concerns, including the need for effective syringe disposal to ensure public spaces remain safe and clean, which we still see some challenges related to public safety when it comes to proper syringe disposal.”

The City of Santa Cruz continues to encourage the safe disposal of used needles at designated drop-off locations.

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