New ordinance set to take effect in 2027The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that will, in a little more than two years, ban the sale of filtered cigarettes in unincorporated areas of the county. The Supervisors will hear a second reading and final adoption on Oct. 29. Santa Cruz-based Save Our Shores says that volunteers picked up more than a half-million cigarette butts in the Monterey Bay area over the past decade, a problem made more pervasive by the toxic chemicals in the plastic filters. Worse, they remain in the environment for years. “This...