Local News

CAPITOLA — A new art exhibit at the Jade Street Community Center in Capitola is serving as an appetizer for the upcoming fifth annual Capitola Plein Air Art Festival. Four artists have two works in the show that were winners from previous Plein Air events, said...

Emergency officials dealt with a man Monday after he pulled a Watsonville Police officer over on Harkins Slough Road and told him that he had been stabbed. Read more at https://pajaronian.com/watsonville-stabbing-victim-taken-to-trauma-center/. • For the past three weeks I have regularly counted 8-15 photos and 6-12 articles...

A team of technicians arrived at Pinto Lake City Park on Monday, where they prepared for a treatment city leaders hope will help clean what has been called one of the most polluted lakes in the U.S.

WATSONVILLE—In early February of 2020, the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture held its Annual Awards Dinner. It was one of the last major events in South County before the pandemic shut things down six weeks later. The dinner returns this year on July...

Thirteen Hero awards were issued to community members on June 15 for “their acts of courage or compassion,” the American Red Cross said.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The World Health Organization on Wednesday classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, as lawmakers and leaders worldwide grapple with rapidly growing numbers of cases. There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have died. Thousands more have been hospitalized,...

Four awarded Rydell Visual Arts Fellowships Four local visual artists have been selected by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County to receive Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship awards for 2024 and 2025.  The awardees are Christian Rex van Minnen, Louise Leong, Maria Isabel LeBlanc and Shirin Towfiq. Each fellowship...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Catherine Barr, Executive Director of Monterey Bay Certified Farmers Markets, was in good spirits Tuesday. She had just received news that the Cabrillo Farmers Market in Aptos would remain open during the countywide shelter-in-place order due to COVID-19. “I am over the moon...

Days after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing jurisdictions throughout the state to address the homeless camps within their borders—and about one month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws banning sleeping in public do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment—unsanctioned...

Tarmo Hannula: Two new police officers will officially hit the streets this weekend in Watsonville to begin their 20-week Field Training phase. When they are done, they will join four others in their various stages of training, which will eventually add up to a...