About Town

In Watsonville today my wife Sarah and I stopped in at Monterey Bay Caterers, 152 West Lake Ave. Owner Ken Schwan helped me preorder two take out dinners a few days ago—their beef Wellington and a chicken Cordon Bleu. Ken said you simply take...

Residents in Santa Cruz County now enter the third week of the shelter-in-place order from health officials launched on March 16 in response to the COVID-19 spread. Now those officials are shifting the initial two-week plan to remain in place until at least May...

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...

On a drive along San Andreas Road, Reach Road and Riverside Drive this morning I noticed more field workers harvesting and grooming fields that I’ve seen in a while. I noticed they were wearing masks and gloves. • An early morning fire tore through Master Car...

The staff at the Santa Cruz County Clerk's office were busy late last night and early today hauling in the ballots from Tuesday’s voting across the county. Evelyn Jones, who has been Clerk III since 1990, said she enjoys the work and recalls, in...

Some people are placing teddy bears in their homes' windows facing the street as a kind gesture to passersby, especially children who are out of school. The bear "scavenger hunt" is taking place all over the country. • The first full moon of the spring will...

A growing number of restaurants, cafes and pubs are shifting their furniture outdoors to accommodate customers during the coronavirus outbreak. Since indoor dining has been put on hold by county health officials, new patio, deck, porch, parking lot and sidewalk dining areas are springing...

Johanna Miller A lot has happened since I last wrote for About Town. The global COVID-19 crisis is unlike anything most of us have experienced. While I’m grateful that my friends and family are safe and healthy, I cannot help but worry every day.  My job...

A construction crew continues was at work on a lengthy underground sewer project along Freedom Boulevard Friday in Watsonville. • Rain fell most of the night and into Monday morning around the Central Coast. Early showers welcomed the day as another weather system meandered through the...

Tarmo Hannula: Genaro Garcia Luna, Mexico’s former public security secretary, the very man who brazenly took on Mexico’s chief drug traffickers, has now been arrested and charged with taking millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa cartel, the New York Times reported. His...