COVID-19

The federal government is preparing to open two new industry-specific small-business relief programs, one of them months in the works, as its signature pandemic aid effort, the Paycheck Protection Program, nears its end. The Small Business Administration said it hopes to start taking applications by...

SANTA CLARA COUNTY— The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department received confirmation Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that an adult male resident of the county tested positive for the coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, China.   “Earlier today the CDC...

Continued decreases in case and positivity rates have Santa Cruz County on track to enter a less restrictive tier of the state’s Covid-19 reopening plan on March 31, County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said at Thursday’s weekly virtual press conference. According to data released...

SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Education (CDE) on Monday released a set of guidelines for schools statewide to use as they seek to reopen in the fall, nearly three months after they closed to slow the spread of Covid-19. While the state agency leaves actual policymaking...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—State officials have sponsored a community testing site for COVID-19 cases in the Watsonville area, Santa Cruz County Department of Public Health Director Mimi Hall said at Tuesday morning’s Santa Cruz County Supervisors meeting. The hope, Hall said, is it will be operational...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday got a first look at its budget for the coming school year, which has taken a severe hit both by declining enrollment and the loss of revenue from the Covid-19 crisis. PVUSD Chief Business...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County will dip into its budgetary reserves to cover an estimated $20 million deficit in this year’s budget, which stems from revenue losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the request by County Administrative Officer Carlos...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Two Santa Cruz County residents died Tuesday due to complications from the novel Coronavirus, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel announced during a Wednesday press conference. The fatalities bring the county’s death toll to six. Newel said Covid-19 was the leading factor...

SACRAMENTO—Every registered voter in California will receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the November election after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Friday. The order requires that each county’s elections officials send vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 3 general election to all registered voters.  Californians...

WATSONVILLE—While Santa Cruz County’s shelter-in-place order has kept residents in their homes, real estate agents have had to rely on their technical prowess to move their customers into new ones. Some realtors have turned to Facebook Live, a video feature that allows users to livestream...