Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Employees at three Aptos restaurants were cited for selling alcohol to minors in an undercover decoy operation on Thursday, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said. The employees were from Panda Inn, Sid’s Smokehouse and Severino’s Bar & Grill, she said. Employees refused...

SOQUEL—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a man after finding a massive amount of illegal drugs and firearms in his Soquel residence. Eli Burry, 39, was charged with possession of narcotics for sale, possession of a controlled substance while armed and weapons violations....

WATSONVILLE—As lunchtime drew to a close Wednesday, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Starlight Elementary School began to gradually filter into the classroom of art teacher Meredith Branan Freeman. They were there to learn about stop-motion animation and create their own movies. Some students worked individually,...

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WATSONVILLE—A man that tested positive for COVID-19 died Friday at Watsonville Community Hospital, Halsen Healthcare CEO Dan Brothman confirmed on Saturday morning. Brothman did not release any information about the victim.   Two sources, however, said the victim was not from Santa Cruz County. They were speaking...

Johanna Miller His Dark Materials (HBO/BBC) I was both excited and nervous when I heard that BBC and HBO would be releasing a miniseries adaptation of my favorite book series, “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman. As a longtime fan, I was hoping it would at...

WATSONVILLE—The man who died at Watsonville Community Hospital on March 20 after testing positive for COVID-19 was fighting diabetes, his family said in a Facebook post over the weekend. The man in his early 50s was believed to be a resident of Las Lomas, a...

PAJARO—Joining a worldwide effort to stave off the spread of COVID-19, Sister Rosa Dolores and a team of six volunteers have started a production line of masks at Casa de la Cultura in Pajaro. The group has made more than 100 masks and is working...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville-based Community Bike Collective was set to host an official public launch sometime this spring as it looked to bring bicycle programs to people of all ages across the county. With a shelter-in-place order prompted by the novel coronavirus, however, that fete has been delayed. But...

Today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the U.S. designed to honor and mourn military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. It also marks the unofficial start of summer in the U.S.  • Travel is at an all-time low this holiday weekend, officials...