COVID-19

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville has asked all departments to trim their budgets by 10 percent to prepare for the economic slump over the next three years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Finance Department Director Cindy Czerwin at Tuesday’s City Council meeting predicted Watsonville...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Starting this week, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel will begin requiring customers and staff at essential businesses such as grocery stores to wear face coverings to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.  The order will follow requirements in place throughout...

SANTA CRUZ—Dignity Health Dominican Hospital announced Monday that it has received a $1 million donation, which will be dispersed to hospital employees who have helped fight the coronavirus. The anonymous donor is a “long-time friend” of the hospital who wanted to thank the workers specifically...

WATSONVILLE—The application process for the City of Watsonville’s small business emergency grants opened today. With help from El Pajaro Community Development Corporation, the city will offer roughly 50 grants of up to $2,000 to small businesses located within city limits with $2 million or less...

WATSONVILLE—Graduation for Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s 1,179 seniors this year will look drastically different than it has at any time in its history. That is because the school closures imposed April 1 by state education officials have required students to learn from home for...

WATSONVILLE—The California Department of Public Health approved Covid-19 County Variance Attestation forms for both Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, the counties announced Saturday morning.  The acceptance will allow the neighboring counties to advance further into Stage 2 of the state's so-called resilience roadmap. Restaurants can now...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Families across Santa Cruz County are invited to participate in Noon in the Park, a free, virtual program featuring community leaders singing, reading books and creating art. Each day is different.  Kate Pavao and Aaron Lazenby, who run the Live Like Coco Foundation, will...

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend tonight will host a tele-town hall from 6-7pm with guest Tom AmRhein to talk about the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. AmRhein, the former president of the Farm Bureau and the current chair of...

WATSONVILLE—Restaurants and retail stores in city limits can now operate outdoors thanks to an emergency order signed by City Manager Matt Huffaker on Friday. Businesses looking to take advantage of the alfresco option would need to receive approval of a Temporary Covid-19 Encroachment Agreement from...

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...