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As students across the state prepare to return to the classroom from their summer break, school districts are faced with a vexing problem: declining enrollment and chronic absenteeism—both of which have been growing every year—are combining to take a bite out of annual revenues,...

Santa Cruz Supervisor and current Board Chair Zach Friend announced Friday that he will not seek a fourth term on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.  Friend was first elected in 2012, and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2016 and 2020. His current term ends...

A Watsonville man with an extensive criminal record was arrested Monday after he allegedly exposed himself to several women in a laundromat. Joel Navarro, 27, was charged with assault with intent to commit mayhem, rape, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual battery, attempted sexual battery and indecent...

Michael Rozen said Aug. 1 he would rather be playing sports with his friends than attending the weeklong Bruce W. Woolpert Algebra Academy offered by Graniterock.  While Michael stopped short of admitting an affinity for math, the 13-year-old admits the experience will prepare him for...

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk plans on bringing back an iconic attraction, but it first must seek approval from the city’s planning commission. Five years after the park removed its Ferris wheel due to age, plans are in the works to construct a new, 68-foot...

Neighborhoods throughout Watsonville celebrated National Night Out on Tuesday, an event meant to allow the public and law enforcement to interact in a positive environment. 

María Olvide Lozano’s 2-year-old daughter stomps around as her mother sits in the lobby of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program at Community Bridges in Watsonville. It's 5pm on a Tuesday and the pair are the only clients here as staff wraps up...

With a theme of “Hometown USA,” the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture held its 61st annual Awards Dinner and Auction on Saturday at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. This year’s honorees were Woman of the Year Trina Coffman-Gomez, Man of the Year...

Every year, as the fleeting summer days pass, staff and volunteers at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds prepare for the coming fair, which is at once a community celebration of the region’s agricultural bounty and an embrace of autumn. The first step in the Herculean...

Plans to bring Watsonville Community Hospital—and the property on which it sits—into public ownership took a giant step forward Wednesday. The Pajaro Valley Health Care District (PVHD) Board of Directors approved a proposal to hire Isom Advisors, a municipal bond advisory firm that will help...