METRO bus service changes underway
Big changes are now underway at the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO). As of Dec. 21, METRO is implementing bus service improvements as part of Reimagine METRO, an effort to increase service, adapt to post-Covid travel patterns and create a more useful transit...
Briefs: Rydell arts fellowships; local equestrians in Tournament of Roses Parade
Four awarded Rydell Visual Arts Fellowships
Four local visual artists have been selected by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County to receive Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship awards for 2024 and 2025.
The awardees are Christian Rex van Minnen, Louise Leong, Maria Isabel LeBlanc and Shirin Towfiq.
Each fellowship...
New mural adorns Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz
A new 200-foot mural has gone up across the front of Hotel Paradox on Ocean Street in Santa Cruz.
Artist Jeremiah Kille, who has completed scores of large-scale murals around town, Sacramento and elsewhere, finished the work in November.
The mural spans the front of the...
Fire at Circle Church possibly arson
Santa Cruz Fire Department investigators believe that a fire that broke out Tuesday inside the former Garfield Park Church was deliberately set, the department announced on Facebook.
According to SCFD, firefighters responded to multiple calls of smoke and flames seen at the now-closed church—also known...
Multiple shots fired into vehicle, two detained, gun recovered
Two suspects were detained Tuesday in Watsonville on suspicion of firing off a string of shots from a gun into a car.
Watsonville Police said the incident unfolded at the corner of Bridge and Secoya streets in the Vista Montaña housing complex around 2:30pm.
Multiple witnesses...
Spreading Christmas cheer
Hundreds of cars slowly filed through the annual Christmas Giveaway put on by Casa de la Cultura in Pajaro on Tuesday.
In collaboration with a list of supporting groups, organizers aim to bolster low-income residents, especially farmworkers, during the holidays, with food, clothing, wrapped gifts,...
Santa Cruz County welcomes new Superior Court judge
More than 100 people gathered in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Dec. 15 to watch the swearing-in of its newest judge, Erika Ziegenhorn, who formerly served as a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office.
Attendees included prosecutors, defense attorneys, Superior Court judges, county workers...
Watsonville Hospital’s former owners ‘grossly negligent,’ face lawsuit
The former owners of Watsonville Community Hospital are facing a lawsuit alleging that they took more than $3.9 million for their own use, and that their mismanagement led the hospital to bankruptcy and to the brink of financial ruin.
Halsen Healthcare was removed from its...
Quiroz-Carter, Orozco second female duo to hold mayor, vice-mayor positions in Watsonville
When Vanessa Quiroz-Carter and Maria Orozco were sworn in Tuesday as Watsonville’s mayor and vice mayor, it marked the second time in the city’s history that women held both top spots.
The last time was in 2019, when Rebecca Garcia and Trina Coffman-Gomez served in...
Santa Cruz County grappling with millions in unpaid federal disaster relief
Santa Cruz County officials are considering a plan to borrow money to help pay for costs of the CZU fires, the Covid pandemic, the storms and floods from early 2023 and other federal disasters that have beset the county.
County staff will return to the...
St. Francis, Watsonville to meet for PCAL season opener | High...
St. Francis is hosting Watsonville this weekend for the anticipated start of Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division-North play.
The crosstown rivals will square off...