Stimulus bill transforms options for state and local governments
Richard F. Cortez, the top elected official in Hidalgo County, at the southern tip of Texas, is so full of anticipation for the federal stimulus money that is about to flow into his county that he has memorized the precise amount and happily recites...
PVUSD, Food Bank partner in supporting families struggling with food insecurity
By Ford Kanzler, Special to the Pajaronian
The pandemic and the business closures that have come with it have hit many Watsonville residents hard. Two local institutions have stepped up to soften the blow.
After schools closed in mid-March of last year, Pajaro Valley Unified...
St. Francis falls to Scotts Valley in county’s first football game during pandemic
SANTA CRUZ—The last time the St. Francis High football team stepped foot on the field it won in a blowout against Harbor High to end the 2019 season on a high note.
The Sharks hoped that the momentum from that win would continue into the...
Geiser Field renovations could begin next week
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville High School site council committee is still onboard with a renovation project at Emmett M. Geiser Field, but now it will not have to decide whether or not to use Measure L funds to help pay for it.
Instead, Pajaro Valley Unified School...
Projects improving pedestrian access to PV High move forward
WATSONVILLE—A trail system that would connect Pajaro Valley High School to downtown Watsonville took another step forward Friday, gaining approval from the County Zoning Administrator.
The project, headed up by the city of Watsonville, would create a 12-foot wide, 1.4-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail that...
High-powered rifles, cannabis seized in Bonny Doon
BONNY DOON—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office confiscated an unusually large amount of cannabis and 16 rifles Tuesday at home in Bonny Doon.
Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin said Sheriff’s Office personnel assigned to the Cannabis Licensing Office served a criminal search warrant at...
County could have ‘some level’ of herd immunity by late spring, officials say
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Just hours before President Joe Biden said that every adult in the United States should have access to a Covid-19 vaccine by May 1, Santa Cruz County health officials said they expect the county will march along into the orange tier of...
Local Girl Scouts forge ahead during pandemic
WATSONVILLE—On Wednesday the Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast (GSCCC) announced that it is extending its Cookie Program until April 18, and will reopen some traditional troop cookie booths across the region.
The news comes as much of the state moves from the purple tier...
City proposing utilities rate increases to fund numerous projects
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council will have a public hearing on May 25 concerning proposed utilities rate increases over the next five years, a cost city staff says is needed in order to make several upgrades to ailing infrastructure.
The new rates would mean a typical...
PVUSD trustees decline to pay attorney bill, move up back to school date
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees late Wednesday agreed to not pay an attorney fee racked up by trustee Georgia Acosta during a meeting on Jan. 29.
In making the decision, the board agreed that Acosta, who was then board president, went...
Mixing Bowl: Sweet Pralines
This recipe, from the cookbook Sweet Home Café Cookbook by Albert Lukas, combines sugar, butter, milk and nuts to form these very sweet candies.
Boil...
