Local News

APTOS—Cabrillo College’s governing board voted Monday to change the institution’s name after a two-hour discussion that included comments from dozens of community members. The trustees voted 6-1 in favor of renaming the college, with trustee Rachel Spencer dissenting.  The decision followed the Nov. 10 release of...

SANTA CRUZ—Hundreds of Academic Researchers, Postdoctoral Scholars, Graduate Student Researchers and Academic Student Employees went on strike Monday at UC Santa Cruz, joining thousands of their colleagues in the University of California system’s 10 institutions to demand a substantial pay increase, as well as...

Note: Reporter Erin Malsbury contributed to this report. After hearing about the arrival of an extremely rare tropical bird in Santa Cruz last week, I immediately texted an out-of-state birder friend. “I’m so jealous I want to vomit,” they replied. When avid birdwatchers see a species for...

APTOS—Second Harvest Food Bank well surpassed its goal of 4.5 million meals during its 2021 holiday drive. But when it came time to organize the 2022 effort, organizers floated the idea of lowering the goal, given the rising costs of groceries due to inflation,...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Jennifer Schacher, who has held the Trustee Area 5 seat since she was elected in 2018, has closed the gap between herself and opponent Olivia Flores since early returns began to come in Tuesday night. Flores is ahead by...

WATSONVILLE—Felipe Hernandez has increased his lead on Jimmy Dutra in the race for the 4th District seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, according to updated results released by the County Elections Department on Friday evening. Hernandez, the former mayor of Watsonville, now...

WATSONVILLE—With police vehicles leading the way—their emergency lights flashing bright in the late-morning sun—a squad of Boy Scouts, U.S. Naval Sea Cadets and military veterans marched down East Lake Avenue Friday to kick off Watsonville’s annual Veterans Day ceremony. The parade ended at the Henry...

Watsonville-raised Matt Mahan is favored to become the next mayor of America’s 10th largest city. The San Jose city councilman’s lead over Santa Clara County supervisor Cindy Chavez grew slightly Wednesday, to 4,766 votes, as ballot counting at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters...

SOQUEL—The County of Santa Cruz is searching for an artist to create a new public art piece for the Heart of Soquel multi-use parkway. Jason Hoppin, Communications Manager of the County of Santa Cruz, said the Heart of Soquel Plaza County Park links a walking...

WATSONVILLE—The race for the District 7 seat on the Watsonville City Council has been the tightest contest in all of Santa Cruz County this general election. Current District 7 representative Ari Parker and former Watsonville mayor Nancy Bilicich are separated by a mere 10 votes,...