Supervisors Caput, Coonerty attend final meeting
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Supervisors bade farewell to two longtime members Tuesday, both of whom served as city council members in their respective districts before taking their seat on the Board.
Ryan Coonerty joined the Board in 2014 after serving on the Santa...
Watsonville City Council hears from flood-stricken residents
WATSONVILLE—Tempers ran high Tuesday evening at the Watsonville City Council meeting where residents of three of the city’s senior residential communities voiced their accounts of having to deal with the floods at the start of the year and the ongoing fallout.
After more than a...
Andy Vargas Foundation hands out scholarships, prepares for concert
Daisy Fernandez has loved music since she was a child. She began singing when she was barely 3 years old, encouraged by her musically inclined family.
But despite this passion, Fernandez had not had much teaching or performance experience.
“I always wanted to take classes and...
Annual Veterans Day ceremony scheduled for Nov. 11
Every Veterans Day, a group of former military service members gathers at St. Patrick’s Church, and then marches along Main Street through downtown Watsonville.
The march is relatively short; it is just under a mile to the Henry J. Mello Center, where the annual Veterans...
Stephen Kessler named 2023 Artist of the Year
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Writer Stephen Kessler has been named the 2023 Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission.
Kessler has written a dozen volumes of original poetry, 16 books of literary translation, three collections of essays and a novel, “The Mental Traveler.”...
Briefs: County Fair seeks theme; Elks Lodge celebrates St. Patrick’s Day
County Fair seeks theme
The Santa Cruz County Fair announced the return of the annual fair theme contest.
The fair invites the community to submit theme ideas that would reflect the spirit of the County Fair in a few words. The theme should reflect the spirit...
Cabrillo College trustees approve name change
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...
Santa Cruz County Fair a ‘roaring success’
The 2023 Santa Cruz County Fair wrapped up Sept. 17 with greater attendance than years past. From monster trucks and pig races to LEGO models, homemade quilts, original paintings, bonsai trees, antique tractors, live music, poodle shows and giant pumpkins, the fair unfolded under...
Watsonville City Council to mull shortening, or closing, airport runway
The Watsonville City Council in March will consider either shortening the crosswind runway at Watsonville Municipal Airport—or deactivating it altogether—which is the airport’s effort to meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines and keep its pilots safe.
That was the message to the City Council Tuesday...
Open Farm Tours returns Oct. 8-9
Open Farm Tours (OFT) returns Oct. 8 and 9, offering the community a chance to visit organic farms, meet local farmers and learn about how their food is grown.
The event, which has been held for the past nine years, is more than doubling the...
Photo story: update on neighborhood standoff
Salinas Police Swat members joined Watsonville Police in a standoff outside a home on Atri Court in Bay Village in Watsonville Monday afternoon while...