COVID-19

WATSONVILLE—Covid-19 vaccines are now available by appointment only for residents 75 years and older at the county’s new mass vaccination center at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Residents who are at 95019, 95076 and 95077 zip codes must register at https://mhealthsystem.com/santacruzfairgrounds to schedule an appointment....

WATSONVILLE—The road has been rocky this year for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, as the state went from a rosy pre-coronavirus budget surplus in January to the potential of $19 million in reductions in May. Those numbers have changed yet again, after Gov. Gavin...

A crew from the City of Watsonville were busy Wednesday installing a sculpture of a great white heron beside the Watsonville Nature Center in Ramsay Park. The art piece was created by John Cerney. • I saw on TV news this morning that there is another...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County on Tuesday moved into a less restrictive tier of the state’s new Covid-19 reopening plan, allowing some businesses to reopen their indoor services with capacity limits and other modifications. Personal care services such as waxing, nails and massage therapy, restaurants, places...

Tarmo Hannula It’s the last day of January 2020. • I noticed a paint crew has started a major paint job on the historic home on the corner of East Beach and Lincoln streets. That’s the towering white place with tall majestic columns, almost identical to the...

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...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—At least 5,600 doses of vaccinations for the novel coronavirus have been distributed throughout Santa Cruz County, a number that county health officials at a Friday press conference said has been significantly impacted by plodding distribution from the state. Overall, the county has...

CENTRAL COAST—Most counties throughout California have now imposed some version of stay-at-home orders, which consist of a series of requests and requirements by local leaders and are designed to slow the spread of Covid-19. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Dec. 3 said that new orders keeping...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville on Friday announced it will close all nonessential services starting Monday because of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, a move that will shut the Watsonville and Freedom branch libraries as well as several City offices. City Manager Matt Huffaker...

Santa Cruz County officials are urging the public to avoid crowding the county’s beaches in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. With shelter-in-place orders in place throughout California, non-essential workers are staying home, schools and universities are switching to online classes and some...