Local News

SACRAMENTO—A contract with a San Jose diagnostics company will allow the state to increase its Covid-19 testing capacity up to an additional 150,000, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Aug. 24. Under the deal with Perkin Elmer, the state will be able to process up to an...

In late July, the New York Times published an article which revealed an alarming statistic: About 16% of museums and galleries in the U.S. are at risk to close permanently because of Covid-19. Immediately after, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) began...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday set the stage for a streamlined process for rebuilding the homes and other structures damaged in the CZU August Lightning Complex fire. The item was part of the consent agenda and therefore garnered no...

I was out by the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse and Santa Cruz Surfing Museum yesterday and saw the workers from Cardiff Pest Control had the lighthouse wrapped in a  termite extermination tent. It was surreal, to say the least. Loads of folks were stopping...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency has entered agreements with two engineering firms to help plan for a project that will help the area achieve sustainable groundwater resources by 2040. The College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project will use rainfall runoff to replace a portion...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission at its Tuesday meeting rejected a gas station’s application for a beer and wine alcohol license and also recommended the City Council deny a permit for a proposed large propane storage facility. An Arco AM/PM convenience store currently being constructed adjacent...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville has established a survey in hopes of gathering community input on the future of the George Washington bust in the City Plaza. The three-question survey asks the public for opinions about the statue in its current state, and if they have...

WATSONVILLE—Last year, Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) spokeswoman Alicia Jimenez was looking for a way to get the community more involved in local public education.  When visiting other cities such as Gonzales, she noticed they were creating and installing banners in their downtowns, featuring...

By Michael Moore, of the Morgan Hill Times SANTA CLARA COUNTY—Gilroy resident Alan Viarengo, who taught math at Gavilan College for nearly 20 years, was arrested last week on suspicion of stalking and threatening Santa Clara County’s public health officer, and police say he has...

SCOTTS VALLEY—The CZU August Lightning Complex fire has destroyed 1,490 structures as of Thursday, making it the ninth-most destructive fire ever recorded in the state. According to Cal Fire, 925 of those structures are single-family homes. Most of those homes once stood in the Santa...