About Town

Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel issued a new order closing parks and beaches throughout Santa Cruz County beginning today through April 15th, 2020, a period that includes Easter weekend and much of Passover. The order is necessary to reduce the public health...

TONY NUÑEZ: Community members again gathered at the George Washington bust in the Watsonville City Plaza on Friday. Some were calling for the statue to come down and others were saying it should stay up. People on both sides of the argument will get their...

All 280 California State Parks have been closed to all day use visitors and all vehicles are being turned away during the COVID-19 outbreak. • The first case of COVID-19 was announced in Santa Cruz County on March 6 and now — three weeks later —...

The folks at the Fairgrounds Foundation have teamed up with the Agricultural History Project this year to create the first-ever Holiday Lights Drive-Thru. The colorful, light-infused event is offered as an alternative to Christmas celebrations during the pandemic, where visitors won't have to get...

Tarmo Hannula: On Sunday there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Laundry Day Laundromat, 35 East Lake Ave. in Watsonville. The ceremony is from noon to 2 p.m. • Are you ready for a new cell tower embedded in a towering fake tree on...

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday that it is temporarily stopping jail tours, screening those being brought to the main jail and stopping contact visits at all facilities. The move is in response to the declaration of local health emergency by the...

Tarmo Hannula: I learned in the newspapers the other day that Germans are credited with starting the tradition of Christmas trees in the 1500s. • At midnight Tuesday, as Christmas Eve slipped into Christmas Day, I heard an interesting bit on my police radio from a...

Officials are saying that two people died in early February from COVID-19 in Santa Clara. The news parallels what officials have recently said about the virus: it got a much earlier start in Wuhan, China than first believed. • Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth...

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

Tarmo Hannula Wet weather will return to the Central Coast as early as Friday night. Scattered showers are expected to pass through Saturday and then heavy rain with the chance of thunderstorms are expected Sunday. Showers could linger through Tuesday. • A task force has leased 26...