INNOVATION NEWS

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Neil Erickson Neil Erickson

She Walked Every Street in Santa Cruz County

Angelica Glass, Santa Cruz Local, has just released her new book “Scavenging Beauty” - a memoir in walks. The book follows her journey through walking every street in Santa Cruz County. She finds unexpected healing and a passion for photography.

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Doug Erickson Doug Erickson

Localfit Wants to Make Local Markets Work Better for Local Makers

Localfit, now in closed beta, matches Bay Area and Santa Cruz makers with vendor events that fit their products, budget, and goals — scoring markets transparently, organizing applications, and making local market access more equitable for small businesses and communities.

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Malina Long Malina Long

Stork Labs Medical, Inc. Wins $85K

Three accelerator wins in seven days, $85K in non-dilutive funding, and a Santa Cruz-born startup working to make childbirth safer just got a whole lot closer to the delivery room.

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Doug Erickson Doug Erickson

High School Robotics Team Wins World Championship

Santa Cruz County's Hephaestus Robotics team captured its first world title, winning the Ranger Class at the 2026 MATE ROV World Championship in Newfoundland — besting 47 high school teams from 13 countries after back-to-back third-place finishes.

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City of Santa Cruz’s Housing Division City of Santa Cruz’s Housing Division

Downtown Santa Cruz Housing Fast Facts

Everyone "knows" Santa Cruz's new housing sits empty. The occupancy data would like a word: it's basically all full — mostly with people who already lived and worked here. Whoops, myth busted.

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Malina Long Malina Long

The Venture Bet: Why Some Startups Thrive and Others Flame Out

Venture capital has funded some of the most transformative companies in modern history. It has also torched billions of dollars on businesses that looked brilliant on a pitch deck but collapsed in the real world. The difference between the two outcomes is rarely about the idea. It almost always comes down to execution, discipline, and leadership.

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Guest User Guest User

Carydn: The 5am Edge

A story about how a former Wall Street derivatives trader finally got the decision intelligence system her manufacturing company needed.

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Neil Erickson Neil Erickson

The Dutch Came to See the Future. The Central Coast Showed Its Work.

A ten-day California × Netherlands exchange brought global mobility leaders to the Central Coast to explore advanced air mobility, clean energy, infrastructure, and workforce development. The visit highlighted how Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, DART, Joby, UCSC, Hartnell, and regional partners are helping build the systems needed to move next-generation flight from concept to real-world deployment.

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Doug Erickson Doug Erickson

The Rail Line's Real Problem Was Never Rail vs. Trail

A new Civil Grand Jury report reframes Santa Cruz County's 40-year corridor fight: the failure wasn't choosing between rail and trail, but making generational decisions without grounding them in engineering and financial reality.

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