Local News

WATSONVILLE—The Monterey Bay Birding Festival has been mothballed for the second year in a row due to pandemic complications. Despite most levels of society, from schools, businesses, services and government, edging back toward normal operations, the festival—in its 17th year—couldn’t get off the ground. “The festival...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—While scores of agencies and organizations, from food banks to senior centers, grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, area faith groups are also finding new ways to redirect their message.  Online services, thanks to live streaming, Zoom and live chats, are now taking...

Signage for the new Staff of Life Natural Foods Market has gone up at the front of its new location in East Lake Village Shopping Center in Watsonville. Clark Codiga, who manages the center and many other properties around town, said the store, with...

Asked to describe this year’s crop of graduates, Watsonville High School Principal Clara Fernandez lauded the 439 Wildcatz of the class of 2021 for their resiliency and determination to make it through more than a year of distance-learning instruction. Roughly 99% of all seniors, Fernandez...

Hundreds of people gathered Saturday morning on beaches, in neighborhoods and along riverways to participate in the second-annual Pitch In All Santa Cruz Cleanup Day. The event is organized by the Trash Talkers, a group of elected officials, community members, nonprofits and governmental organizations, formed...

LIVE OAK—Santa Cruz County’s first-ever inclusive playground officially opened Jan. 18 at Chanticleer Park in Live Oak.  LEO’s Haven, a playground designed to welcome children with disabilities such as blindness, mobility impairment and autism, is the centerpiece of the $4 million rebuild of the 4.5-acre...

The children of Darryl and Glenda Welty are pleased to announce the 70th wedding anniversary of their parents. Darryl and Glenda were married Aug. 24, 1950 at Glad Tidings Church in Hanford. Both attended Hanford High School where they met and fell in love. Darryl...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan to move the county’s public defender services from a private law firm to one run by the County. The plan has garnered support from the current public defenders, as well as...

WATSONVILLE—The Transit Equity/Rosa Parks’ Day Family Fair will unfold in downtown Watsonville Saturday at Watsonville Plaza. Attendees will be able to test out e-bicycles with Royal Dutch Gazelle e-Bicycles, meet local organizations like Regeneracion, the Community Bike Collective, Ecology Action, and Friends of the Rail...