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Three Pajaro Valley Unified School District students on Wednesday became the first in Santa Cruz County to earn the California State Seal of Civic Engagement. The award, approved by the California State Legislature in 2020, goes to young people whose community involvement and knowledge of...

APTOS—This is the second of two articles showcasing the candidates vying for seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees.  Last week, incumbent Jennifer Schacher and Olivia Flores had their say. With four seats up for election, two went uncontested. Daniel Dodge Jr....

WATSONVILLE—Felipe Hernandez has increased his lead on Jimmy Dutra in the race for the 4th District seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, according to updated results released by the County Elections Department on Friday evening. Hernandez, the former mayor of Watsonville, now...

APTOS—A man was arrested Thursday in the Safeway parking lot in Aptos after he allegedly provided illegal drugs to a minor. When Special Enforcement Detectives with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office contacted Benjamin Reynolds, he was in possession of numerous baggies of cocaine, marijuana,...

PAJARO—As Pajaro residents wait for waters to recede and for officials to lift the evacuation orders that have beset the small community since the March 11 levee breach, hundreds of Pajaro Middle School students are attending class three miles away at Lakeview Middle School. Pajaro...

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Fair Board President Don Dietrich has taken over as CEO in the wake of the Oct. 4 dismissal of Dave Kegebein, and says he’ll stay at the helm as the Board recruits a replacement. It is unclear how long that could take,...

PAJARO—Scores of volunteers were on hand Monday morning at Marinovich Cold Storage in Pajaro, preparing to hand out gifts to hundreds of local families at Casa de la Cultura’s annual Christmas giveaway. The Casa de la Cultura organization aims to support low-income residents, especially farmworkers,...

WATSONVILLE—A newly formed community group with the vision of reducing the use of pesticides in the Pajaro Valley is taking on international berry giant Driscoll’s. The Campaign for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture (CORA) recently sent a letter to Driscoll’s CEO Miles Reiter calling for the...

WATSONVILLE—A woman survived a solo-plane crash at Watsonville Municipal Airport Sunday afternoon after reportedly smashing into power lines and a utility pole upon approach to the runway just before 3pm. Cal Fire Capt. Bryan Whitaker said the pilot appeared to have suffered minor to moderate...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Evacuation “will be necessary” for the people living along Corralitos and Salsipuedes creeks as Santa Cruz County braces for a second major storm in less than a week, officials said Tuesday. “We are letting people living in those areas know that, in all...