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Elaine Johnson was 15 before she realized that the “aunt” who lived with her grandmother was actually her grandmother’s partner of four decades. In those days, LGBTQ largely had to live in the shadows, lest they draw scorn from a society not yet evolved enough...

The annual Santa Cruz County Open Studios Art Tour, which showcases dozens of artists around the county in their studios, is set to welcome the public starting Oct. 4. To prime the public with a wide range of what’s on deck, the Pajaro Valley Arts...

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.”...

WATSONVILLE—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 1 signed a bill into law that gives full funding to the long-awaited Pajaro River Levee Project, giving 100-year protection to the people who live in the South County communities that are prone to destructive flooding. Senate Bill 489, authored...

Three years after the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted to purchase the former West Marine building on Westridge Drive, a convergence of city and county officials gathered at the site Tuesday to celebrate its new incarnation. The 121,000 square-foot South County Government Center...

APTOS–The family of Stuart Camenson, who died in a plane collision at Watsonville Municipal Airport on Aug. 18, has created a permanent endowed scholarship for Cabrillo College students in his honor. The Stuart Camenson Memorial Endowed Scholarship aims to support those studying within Cabrillo’s Visual...

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...

SEACLIFF—The tidal surge that ravaged Seacliff State Beach on Jan. 5 destroyed much of the park’s protective sea wall, all but destroyed the campground and ravaged the pier so severely that the entire structure is “actively failing” and likely beyond repair. That was the message...

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz Police and school officials believe that a threat of a shooting at Santa Cruz High School is false, and there have been no reports of anyone injured. SCPD Chief Bernie Escalante said at an early Wednesday afternoon press conference that a call...

LARKIN VALLEY—A  woman was shot Monday afternoon in the area of Highway 1 and Mar Monte, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn. When Sheriff’s deputies arrived around 3pm, they learned the victim self-transported to a local hospital and was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The...