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Massive surf pummeled coastal regions of Santa Cruz County, leading to evacuations, road closures and damage Thursday.  High waves surged into Capitola Village, knocking over signs and benches, tearing open business fronts and cluttering the Esplanade with mountains of driftwood, sand and debris. Mary Ann Orr,...

Diane Severin’s teaching career at Watsonville High School spanned more than five decades. She is described as a fierce advocate for equal rights and a loyal friend. She stayed deeply involved in the community throughout her life, took up skeet shooting at 60 and...

Just two years ago, Watsonville Community Hospital was saddled with a $30 million debt and was facing bankruptcy and possible closure. But on Wednesday, the Pajaro Valley Health Care District (PVHCD) Board of Directors—the agency that oversees the publicly owned hospital—heard a budget report which,...

A festive farewell lunch Dec. 21 set the tone for the final day of duty for Watsonville Police Sgt. Mike Ridgway as he set his sails toward retirement. As part of the departure, a 911 dispatcher delivered a statement over the police radio: “This is...

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District has received a $2 million grant that will be used to redevelop the Watsonville Transit Center into an affordable, transit-oriented housing development. The funding will cover the architecture and engineering phase of the project, a process that will begin...

The Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board of Directors on Dec. 21 approved a three-year contract with its nurses, two weeks after the nurses’ union ratified it. The approval came after six months of bargaining. Nurses say the contract helps improve patient safety by increasing...

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...

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...

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...

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...