Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Second Harvest Food Bank has been facing an unprecedented amount of need throughout the county since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in March. They have more than doubled their weekly donations, averaging about 1.2 million pounds per month in distribution. The Holiday Food...

Agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted a raid on a Santa Cruz residence early Friday morning as part of an “ongoing criminal investigation,” DHS spokesman Richard Rocha said.

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission on Tuesday will make recommendations for possible changes to the city’s cannabis ordinance. The Planning Commission’s agenda was not made available before press time, but a public hearing notice published in this newspaper stated the body would be making recommendations on...

WATSONVILLE—The man and woman who were found dead inside a van parked in the parking lot of the Rodeway Inn in Watsonville on March 8 have been identified as Nicholas Reagan, 29, and Barbara Reid, 64. According to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman...

Community Bridges and Hijos del Sol, a Salinas-based community art group, were part of a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday in Pajaro to celebrate the completion of “Life Transforms/La vida se transforma,” a 160 by 25-foot outdoor mural created in partnership with Pajaro residents. The mural took...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County health officials announced Friday that two more county residents have died of Covid-19 complications, bringing the local death toll to eight. One was a man in his early 60s and the other was a woman in her late 90s. Both...

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an emergency declaration for the damages sustained in the storm surges on Dec. 28 and 30. County officials estimate that the waves, which inundated Capitola Village, slammed Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf and wreaked havoc...

On Jan. 28, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and Monarch Services will co-present the film “The Mask You Live In,” a documentary film that explores how boys and young men navigate a society that often demands an unrealistic ideal of masculinity. The screening...

By Emanuel Lee, Hollister Free Lance Sports Editor Calling it the “document we’ve been waiting for,” Central Coast Section Commissioner Dave Grissom said the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) recent release in regards to youth sports gives him and the other 10 section commissioners...