COVID-19

A drive-thru pizza giveaway will be held at 7-Eleven, 1461 Main St., Watsonville, on Christmas Eve at 11am. At least 500 full sized, uncooked pepperoni pizzas will be ordered for the drive-thru, plus another 60 for employees and about 140 for customers at other 7-Elevens.  The...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that all inmates at Santa Cruz County Jail have tested negative for Covid-19. The announcement follows news that several correctional officers who work at the jail tested positive for the novel coronavirus, an outbreak that has...

WATSONVILLE—Jessica Martin was getting ready to go to bed Saturday night when she received a text message from a friend. Then another. And another. And another. “They just kept coming in,” she said. “It went viral, really viral.” Her family’s bakery, Rebeca’s Bakery off of Main...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley High football team has been conditioning for several weeks, gearing up for what will be the shortest season in the program’s history.  That season is in danger of becoming a week shorter after this Saturday’s game for the illustrious Belgard Kup against...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police Sgt. Donny Thul was on patrol recently when he got a harsh reminder of life under coronavirus restrictions. A call came over his radio that a group of young people was gathered at a park playing soccer. Just a few weeks ago, such a...

CENTRAL COAST—Monterey and Santa Cruz counties were reporting the highest Covid-19 positivity rates in the Bay Area region Friday, according to data reported by the California Department of Public Health. The positivity rate in Monterey County was 23.2%. In Santa Cruz County it was 18.5%,...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously voted to delay a decision on how to resume classes in August, to give district officials time to investigate all of their options. Still undetermined is which risk level the district will use...

SANTA CRUZ—A group of high-ranking medical care providers and officials on Thursday gathered at Santa Cruz’s Emeline health complex, a press conference convened to get a single message out to the public. “We want to drive home the importance today of everyone eligible in our...

SOQUEL—Allen Stobaugh and his wife Mary were at the tail end of a 15-day cruise to the Hawaiian Islands—and were on their way for a final stop in Ensenada, Mexico—when their trip was waylaid by the novel coronavirus. Twenty-one passengers tested positive for the coronavirus,...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—As the delta variant of Covid-19 sweeps across the world, and as health care providers urge everyone to get a vaccine, a new grant is expected to help several local organizations reach people who are hesitant to do so, or who are...