Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Writer Stephen Kessler has been named the 2023 Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission.  Kessler has written a dozen volumes of original poetry, 16 books of literary translation, three collections of essays and a novel, “The Mental Traveler.”...

Dec. 4, 2019 Tarmo Hannula: In the midst of all this rain there have been a few incredible sunrises and sunsets. On Monday as I stepped off the 69A METRO bus in Santa Cruz the evening sky was opening up into an explosive bouquet of...

WATSONVILLE—The County of Santa Cruz announced Saturday that it has distributed thousands of N-95 masks—and plans to hand out thousands more—to farms across the Pajaro Valley to help protect farmworkers from hazardous smoke currently polluting the air. Several fires across the Central Coast and greater...

APTOS—When Covid-19 began to sweep the U.S.—and brought with it an economic recession—Cabrillo College officials expected a jump in enrollment that typically comes with a battered economy. But the college is now seeing a significant drop in those numbers, which it pins on the double...

WATSONVILLE—Annie Morhauser, whose Watsonville-based studio, Annieglass, has become a cornerstone of the Santa Cruz County arts community, has been named the 2022 Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission. She has been making her glassware in Santa Cruz County since 1983....

WATSONVILLE—When a former member of the military dies, the Freedom Veterans of Foreign War Post 1716 Honor Guard is there to honor them with a rifle salute of three ceremonial volleys. The service similar to the 21-gun salute is a military-style way to honor veterans...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Public Library (WPL) has received a $12,000 grant which it will use to establish a “creative cafe” at its Freedom Branch. Similar to a makerspace, a creative cafe is a hub offering a community a place to produce creative projects. The Freedom Branch’s...

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

WATSONVILLE—The County of Santa Cruz had a soft opening for a new Covid-19 testing site at Ramsay Park Thursday.  The site will initially focus on frontline health care workers, first responders and employees working in essential services and roles, said county spokesman Jason Hoppin. A partnership...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Thanks to $10 million in federal and state grants, Santa Cruz County has launched a new Housing for Health office, County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios announced at a press conference Nov. 19. Robert Ratner, who brings in 14 years of experience from Alameda...