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Around 300 people joined forces to repair a giant Black Lives Matter mural Sunday in downtown Santa Cruz. The work was a community response to the mural being damaged by two men in what prosecutors described as a hate crime for felony vandalism when they...

Community Bridges and Catholic Charities Diocese of Monterey have teamed up to open a satellite resource center in Pajaro to provide disaster services for families recovering from the floods that inundated the region earlier this year.   The 580-square-foot office at 14 Porter Drive will fulfill...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Area 1 incumbent Kim De Serpa took an early–and significant–lead as early results poured in, showing a 66.1% lead over her opponent Natalain Schwartz. In a small gathering at Cantine Winepub, De Serpa said she was looking forward to...

Several dozen students in the ceramics program at Cabrillo College are busy at the Kathryn McBride Ceramics Studio at the Aptos campus making clay goods for their upcoming Build and Throw-a-thon sale. Instructor Sylvia Rios said students have been in high gear creating a wide...

NOTE: Reporters Todd Guild, Johanna Miller, Tarmo Hannula and Erik Chalhoub contributed to this article. For more than two years, people have clamored for the return to “normal” after the uncertainties of a pandemic. In 2022, we got a taste of normalcy, but it was far...

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Supervisor candidate Jimmy Dutra told a group of reporters and roughly two-dozen supporters that allegations of sexual abuse made against him last week are “completely false and untrue,” and stem from a dispute with his late father’s ex-wife over his estate. Dutra...

Stephen Gray was officially hired as CEO of Watsonville Community Hospital on Wednesday. With a 4-1 vote, the Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board approved Gray’s contract, less than a week after the hospital corporation announced him as its selection. Board member Joe Gallagher dissented. Hospital...

Zeke Fraser was hired as the new manager of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, the board of directors announced Tuesday, capping off a search that began when former manager Dave Kegebein was fired in October. Fraser, a resident of Santa Cruz for nearly 30 years,...

WATSONVILLE—Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) Santa Cruz County is hosting five more drive-thru food distributions throughout the holiday season. The distributions are being held every other Monday, rain or shine at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Ave. in Watsonville. The organization reported Oct....

After five months of negotiations, nurses at Watsonville Community Hospital have ratified a three-year contract that they say helps to improve patient safety and increase nurse retention. The California Nurses Association, which represents 250 nurses at the hospital, made the announcement on Dec. 9. It...