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Four awarded Rydell Visual Arts Fellowships Four local visual artists have been selected by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County to receive Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship awards for 2024 and 2025.  The awardees are Christian Rex van Minnen, Louise Leong, Maria Isabel LeBlanc and Shirin Towfiq. Each fellowship...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Coroner has identified the three victims in a midair collision between two airplanes on Aug. 18 above Watsonville Municipal Airport.  Carl Kruppa, 75, and Nannette Plett-Kruppa, 67, both of Winton, Calif. were aboard the Cessna 340 twin-engine plane, while Stuart...

WATSONVILLE—A woman survived a solo-plane crash at Watsonville Municipal Airport Sunday afternoon after reportedly smashing into power lines and a utility pole upon approach to the runway just before 3pm. Cal Fire Capt. Bryan Whitaker said the pilot appeared to have suffered minor to moderate...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency Board of Directors authorized staff to advertise for bids to construct the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project.  PVWMA officials say the project will provide much-needed water to the critically overdrafted basin of the Pajaro Valley by supplying 1,800...

WATSONVILLE—Empower Watsonville, a youth leadership group that aims to amplify young voices in local government, hosted its annual conference at the Gene Hoularis and Waldo Rodriguez Youth Center on Dec. 2. Empower Watsonville is a health policy program of Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District will continue its school resource officer (SRO) program—which pairs a uniformed police officer with a mental health clinician at two comprehensive high schools—while asking Watsonville Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office to share the cost. The Board...

Diane Severin’s teaching career at Watsonville High School spanned more than five decades. She is described as a fierce advocate for equal rights and a loyal friend. She stayed deeply involved in the community throughout her life, took up skeet shooting at 60 and...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A Pacific Collegiate School student and her friends are fighting for changes in the law after their friend and her brother were violently removed from their grandmother’s Santa Cruz home in October and taken to an undisclosed site to undergo court-ordered family...

SANTA CRUZ—The annual Guelaguetza Santa Cruz festival unfolded Sunday at Branciforte Small Schools, an outdoor event that celebrates the culture of Oaxaca, Mexico. Dazzling costumes and dance, a large orchestra—heavy in brass and woodwinds—food tents, arts and crafts of the region and plenty of sunshine...

Police on Sunday were looking for a man who escaped after leading them on a vehicle pursuit in a stolen pickup and a foot chase in Watsonville.  The incident began at Main Street at Freedom Boulevard around 10:30am when Watsonville Police Capt. Jarrod Pisturino spotted...