Scotts Valley, CA|News|
Fewer People Seek Work in Santa Cruz County in August
The county's overall unemployment rate fell last month, but so did the number of people in the labor force.

Jennifer Squires has lived in Santa Cruz County for more than seven years. An Oregon native, she studied journalism, Spanish and ethics at Southern Oregon University. She's worked for several small, community newspapers and also was editor of the SOU weekly newspaper for two years. Most recently, she was the crime reporter at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Along the way, she's won awards for reporting on schools, wildfires and a grisly tale about the beheading of an Abraham Lincoln statue in a city park.
My Beliefs
At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.
Politics
I am my father's daughter and, therefore, a registered Democrat. But I respect a wide range of views and hope that our elected leaders can find a balance between what's best for personal liberty, living-wage jobs and environmental sustainability.
Religion
I was baptized in an Episcopal church before I could walk but don't consider myself religious.
The county's overall unemployment rate fell last month, but so did the number of people in the labor force.

Gilroy police say sobriety checkpoints reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug involved crashes.
Learn more about 4-H at the Scotts Valley club meeting Oct. 14 at Community Covenant Church.
Negotiators for both the teachers' union and the school district are due to meet Thursday evening.
Also, shoplifters were all over CVS on Tuesday, but several were caught and ticketed.
But violent crimes decreased in the city in 2012, new FBI data shows.
Violent crimes decreased in Scotts Valley in 2012 but property crimes increased slightly, according to a recently released FBI report.
But Watsonville has the lowest number of sworn officers per capita of any city in the county, FBI data shows.
But property crimes decreased in Capitola in 2012, according to a recently released FBI report. Use the grey scroll bars to see all the data.
Fall is mating season, so be on the lookout for them on the roadways.
Fall is mating season, so be on the lookout for them on the roadways.
Fall is mating season, so be on the lookout for them on the roadways.
Fall is mating season, so be on the lookout for them on the roadways.
He faces three felony sex crimes charges.
'With our current working conditions, there is no way we teachers can do our jobs effectively to the best of our abilities.'
Erik's will get a proclamation from Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Lynn Robinson during an event Wednesday.
The competition drew eight teams to Christopher High last weekend.