Experience the pulse of Santa Cruz County’s vibrant entrepreneurial scene at the highly anticipated Annual Small Business Summit on Friday, May 9 2025.

In its 11th year, CruzHacks 2025 brought together hundreds of students to ideate and build technologies for social good, tackling real-world challenges across sustainability, healthcare, education, and accessibility. This year marked a major milestone as the event moved to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium—an exciting but logistically complex venue.

Job fairs are an excellent opportunity for both employers and job seekers. 

Students are encouraged to apply for 20 available spots in the annual "Summer in the City" internship program, a partnership between the City of Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD).

Paystand’s new Smart Controls help mid-sized businesses manage tariffs and protect margins amid global trade volatility, fueling a resilient shift toward domestic manufacturing and growth.

Bike Santa Cruz is conducting a short survey to better understand what matters most to Santa Cruz residents. It only takes 3 minutes to complete, and your answers will help local leaders, organizations, and change-makers make smarter decisions that reflect our unique community values.

When CruzHacks 2025’s WiFi crashed on day one, local ISP Cruzio swooped in to save the day. Within an hour, they restored blazing-fast internet for 400+ hackers. Thanks to Cruzio and City staff, the hackathon was back on track—proving once again that Santa Cruz’s tech community is small but mighty.

What if FEMA didn’t exist? Ming Xie from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, explores this question in a compelling article introduced by Guy Kawasaki. Discover how disaster response would shift without federal support—and why FEMA's role is more crucial than ever.

When our institutions are under threat, the best response is action. In Santa Cruz, that means adopting a nonprofit—supporting it with time, money, or attention. With over 500 local organizations, there's one for everyone. Defend what makes this place special. Civil society survives when we choose to make it ours.

Thinking about opening up a food business? Come check out this 8 week online program!

CruzHacks 2025 is back and bigger than ever! Join 500+ innovators April 11–13 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium for 36 hours of nonstop hacking, $5K in prizes, and groundbreaking ideas. Don’t miss the public showcase Sunday at 2 p.m. Huge thanks to our amazing community sponsors!

New Leaf Energy proposes a $200 million lithium battery storage site near Watsonville to improve power reliability. Following a fire at Moss Landing, locals raise safety concerns. The project requires extensive approvals and an environmental review, with Minto Road identified as the only viable location in Santa Cruz County.

Santa Cruz Accelerates alum, Wonderfil, shares some exciting Q1 updates.

Verdagy, a green hydrogen company based in Moss Landing, has chosen Black & Veatch to lead the front-end engineering design (FEED) for its groundbreaking 60 MW clean hydrogen plant located on the Texas Gulf Coast.

MAG Aerospace is teaming with Parallel Flight Technologies to explore expansion of its Expeditionary Logistics Service offerings.

As the digital content landscape evolves, a new frontier is emerging for media creators, licensing their content to train new AI video models. Local media company, Brick House Media owned by Jared Brick, are stepping up big time to help local creators monetize their "dark media”.

Climatize Launches give $60, get $60 campaign during Earth month.

Amid tariff-induced economic uncertainties, Santa Cruz has historically shown resilience by spawning innovative startups during tough economic times. Companies like Looker and PayStand exemplify how recessions can spark creativity and groundbreaking business models.

Thinking about an EV? EVs for Everyone program provides free purchase assistance for Electric Vehicle adoption.

Beaches, Books, Budgets, and Bots brought together innovators, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs for an unforgettable evening of insight, tech demos, and dynamic discussion. From political impacts on education and climate to cutting-edge AI startups, the event sparked ideas, collaboration, and meaningful connections at the beautiful Chaminade Spa & Resort.