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WATSONVILLE—Work is underway at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in preparation for the annual Holiday Lights drive-thru light show. Born out of the 2020 Covid lockdowns as a way for the community to celebrate the season safely, the event invites families to drive though colorful...

A new program launched by the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation (CMSF), ReGen Monterey and Flipping Iron, Inc. is joining a growing effort to recycle more plastic from local farms and ranches. CMSF, an organization aiming to protect California’s coastal ecosystems and communities, conducted an assessment...

APTOS—Cabrillo College’s governing board voted Monday to change the institution’s name after a two-hour discussion that included comments from dozens of community members. The trustees voted 6-1 in favor of renaming the college, with trustee Rachel Spencer dissenting.  The decision followed the Nov. 10 release of...

APTOS—Second Harvest Food Bank well surpassed its goal of 4.5 million meals during its 2021 holiday drive. But when it came time to organize the 2022 effort, organizers floated the idea of lowering the goal, given the rising costs of groceries due to inflation,...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Jennifer Schacher, who has held the Trustee Area 5 seat since she was elected in 2018, has closed the gap between herself and opponent Olivia Flores since early returns began to come in Tuesday night. Flores is ahead by...

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...

WATSONVILLE—With police vehicles leading the way—their emergency lights flashing bright in the late-morning sun—a squad of Boy Scouts, U.S. Naval Sea Cadets and military veterans marched down East Lake Avenue Friday to kick off Watsonville’s annual Veterans Day ceremony. The parade ended at the Henry...

Watsonville-raised Matt Mahan is favored to become the next mayor of America’s 10th largest city. The San Jose city councilman’s lead over Santa Clara County supervisor Cindy Chavez grew slightly Wednesday, to 4,766 votes, as ballot counting at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s half-cent sales tax increase had formidable support from voters in initial results released by the Santa Cruz County Elections Department. As of Wednesday morning, Measure R had amassed 64.67% of the 3,151 votes tallied. The general tax measure only needs a simple majority for...