Local News

WATSONVILLE—For 12 years, Sherry Dang and Kirk di Cicco, husband-and-wife owners of five local franchised 7-Eleven stores, have made it a point to give back to their community during Thanksgiving. And the Covid-19 pandemic was not going to stop them from continuing that tradition...

WATSONVILLE—A family of a man who died from Covid-19 at Watsonville Post Acute Center (WPAC) has sued the facility. Donald Wickham, 94, died on Oct. 10. He was one of 16 residents who died after contracting the virus. According to the lawsuit filed Nov. 10 by...

APTOS—Two weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday rolled around, Twin Lakes Church Pastor Rene Schlaepfer and Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) CEO Willy Elliott McCrea were worried. The church’s annual food drive, which typically raises thousands of dollars for the food bank’s holiday, was falling short,...

WATSONVILLE—The Digital NEST during its first six years has seen impressive and steady growth in the number of young people that it serves and in the impact on the communities in which it is embedded. Now, the nonprofit youth workforce development center headquartered in Watsonville...

APTOS—Ever since the first shelter-in-place order went into effect in March, Cabrillo College’s art gallery has been working to adapt and keep afloat. This has meant moving all exhibits to virtual formats and focusing on social media outreach while continuing to support students. In early...

This is a complete list of 40 groups we’re raising money for in this year’s Santa Cruz Gives holiday giving campaign. Go to santacruzgives.org to donate to one or more of this year’s participants. BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY Organization Mission: We create and support...

WATSONVILLE—Yoni Espinoza says he was just 6 years old when his mother told him that they were going to go on a “long, long walk.” He says he had no idea the trek would be a three-day journey through excruciatingly hot days and numbingly cold...

WATSONVILLE—Oscar Soto has won the Trustee Area 3 seat on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees, beating Amanda Hernandez by 51 votes, according to results from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, neither of which have been certified. Soto said he was cautiously...

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced that starting Saturday all non-essential businesses, travel and gatherings will be subject to a month-long curfew. Counties in the “Widespread,” or purple, tier of the state’s Covid-19 reopening plan, will have to close all non-essential businesses and cease all...

The 2020 U.S. Election saw a record turnout, with more Americans voting than in any election in more than a century. And with the high number of voters came plenty of landmark wins—including for LGBTQ candidates in all levels of government. LGBTQ representation in Congress...