Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: How firefighters stopped a Westside Santa Cruz blaze from spreading further

Coming up: 🌟 Collaging in Your New Life: Visualize The New Year on the Santa Cruz Patch calendar

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What's up Santa Cruz! Let's start this morning right by getting caught up on what's going on around town. Keep reading to stay in the loop. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • How firefighters stopped a Westside Santa Cruz blaze from spreading further
  • How firefighters stopped a raging Ingalls Street blaze from spreading
  • How will California’s new literacy law change Santa Cruz classrooms?

Also on today's calendar: 🌟 Collaging in Your New Life: Visualize The New Year and 5 more events.

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: I quit my job as a banker. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Friday: Cloudy, a little rain; breezy, with a high of 62 and low of 53 degrees.
  • Saturday: Rain; breezy in the afternoon, temps: high: 60, low: 50.
  • Sunday: Windy and cool with rain, with a high of 57 and low of 48 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Firefighters contain large structure fire in Westside Santa Cruz (santacruzsentinel.com) — Firefighters contained a major late-night blaze at a woodworking shop on Ingalls Street in Westside Santa Cruz, preventing it from spreading to nearby homes and businesses. Multiple agencies, including Scotts Valley, Central, and Felton fire districts, assisted Santa Cruz crews, and the cause of the 4,500-square-foot structure fire is still under investigation.
   

2. New Year's Eve fire erupts at Santa Cruz wood shop (ksbw.com) — Fire crews from across Santa Cruz County battled a significant New Year’s Eve blaze at a wood shop on the 400 block of Ingalls Street, containing damage to one business and a loft above it. No injuries were reported, neighboring shops were spared, and investigators are still working to determine what sparked the late-night second-alarm fire.
   

3. California law addresses student literacy concerns (ksbw.com) — A new California law taking effect in 2026 will overhaul K–8 reading and language arts materials, and Santa Cruz County’s latest scores show 56.3% of students still below literacy standards. Local passage rates have inched up since last year, but the five-year trend highlights how far Santa Cruz students must go to reach grade-level expectations.
   

4. Thomas Watson is first baby born in Watsonville in 2026 (santacruzsentinel.com) — A Royal Oaks couple welcomed Thomas Watson at Watsonville Community Hospital at 3:36 a.m. New Year’s Day, making him the first recorded baby born in Watsonville and among the first in Santa Cruz County for 2026. His parents, who work and have roots in Santa Cruz, describe a stressful labor that ended safely with a C-section and lots of family support.
   

5. This Diminutive Reptile Plays Rock-Paper-Scissors (nytimes.com) — A new Science study unpacks how male side‑blotched lizards effectively play a rock‑paper‑scissors game with their throat colors and mating strategies, cycling between orange, blue, and yellow morphs. The work builds on research by the late UC Santa Cruz biologist Barry Sinervo, revealing how a single gene and environmental cues together drive this quirky evolutionary contest.
   

📸 Around Santa Cruz

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Santa Cruz

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📣 Santa Cruz Shout Outs!

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🗓 Events Nearby

    Saturday January 3
  • Are You Game? Lancelot's Merry Band of Gamers
    Barbara Gorson Multiuse Room , Capitola
    12:00 pm
    • Monday January 5
  • Day Camp Available
    Pacific Elementary School Davenport, CA 95017
    8:15 am
    • Tuesday January 6
  • Aptos Youth Chess Club @ Aptos
    The Betty Leonard Community Room , Aptos
    3:30 pm
    • Wednesday January 7
  • Preschool Storytime @ the Garfield Park Branch Library
    Garfield Park Branch Library Garfield Park
    10:30 am

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Santa Cruz PatchAM possible:

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Lost Cat.
    Last seen Dec. 22nd. near Escalona and Peyton, Santa Cruz. Well loved and very missed. He always loses his collar, but he has a microchip. His name… (Nextdoor Lower Escalona)
  • A selection of my work from 2025.
    I appreciate all the community support! Your names for the pieces are amazing. Open studio this week! Send me a message to come on by More light,… (Nextdoor Ocean St. Extension)
  • Bellows Plumbing, Heating and Air posted a job opening for Generator Technician in Santa Cruz. Apply here.
  • Target posted a job opening for Guest Advocate (Cashier), General Merchandise, Inbound (Stocking) (T3410) in Scotts Valley. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Santa Cruz here.

Ok Santa Cruz! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I just lost interest.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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