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A group that studies and archives the history of local Filipino people—and provides educational materials of that history—on Wednesday suspended its work with Pajaro Valley Unified School District, alleging that the Board of Trustees erred when they rejected a contract renewal for an ethnic...

Rain and wind swept across Santa Cruz County on Sunday, with storm damage reported in several places. Paige Gordon stood near her Live Oak home, hours after a towering eucalyptus tree—felled by heavy winds— smashed through the top floor and rendered the entire structure uninhabitable. High...

Melissa Arana, 3, pays visit to Santa Monday at Ramsay Park in Watsonville after Santa and one of his helpers landed in a helicopter. More than 100 people lined up to watch the landing in a soccer field and then stepped up to greet...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Community Hospital has been up and running under its new leadership—the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District (PVHD)—since Sept. 1. It has been business as usual since then. On Monday, however, a group of state and local elected officials, along with the PVHD board and a sizable...

For decades, Watsonville-based Mexican folklórico group Esperanza del Valle (EDV) has been learning from master dance instructors from Mexico.  One of these teachers, Daniel del Valle Hernandez, will join Esperanza for its upcoming show, “Homenaje a Veracruz,” which is scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13...

In the early days of the AIDS crisis, a group of local leaders went to school officials to offer HIV prevention education. The response they got showed them how much that education—and of LGBT issues in general—were needed. “They said, ‘you don’t need to do HIV...

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...

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...

By TARA FATEMI WALKER SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) and its network of more than 70 partner agencies, including nonprofits such as food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, work hard to combat food insecurity.  But because of new requirements mandated by Senate Bill 1383,...

These young women wear traditional garb from Oaxaca, Mexico as they prepare to dance at the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Watsonville Plaza Friday. Co-presented by the Farmers’ Market, Poesía en la Plaza and Ballet Folklorico Ollin, the event featured music, poets, dancers and...