Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Officials at Pacific Coast Manor have reported that 61 of their residents and 37 staff members have tested positive for Covid-19. Four residents of the skilled nursing facility in Capitola have also died of Covid-19 complications, the facility reported Wednesday. Sixteen of the...

A year and a half after the massive battery fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant, a final environmental assessment concludes that off-site soil, sediment and surface water sampled around the facility do not appear to pose an unacceptable long-term risk to people or...

CORRALITOS—The 25-year-old woman who died Tuesday after an SUV struck her on the 4800 block of Freedom Boulevard has been identified as Stephanie Bell of Aptos, according to Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.  California Highway Patrol officer Alyssa Gutierrez said a...

SANTA CRUZ—An unsanctioned homeless camp in Santa Cruz has reopened, this time with a new name, increased security and a set of rules designed to reduce crime and drug use. Now called Camp Phoenix – after the mythological bird that rose anew out of its...

WATSONVILLE—As lunchtime drew to a close Wednesday, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Starlight Elementary School began to gradually filter into the classroom of art teacher Meredith Branan Freeman. They were there to learn about stop-motion animation and create their own movies. Some students worked individually,...

A school bus veered off of Casserly Road and tore out a power pole after attempting to avoid an SUV that drifted into its path Monday morning.

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police Chief David Honda has contacted the FBI for help in tracing the origin of a heavily-circulated social media post calling for a “barbaric protest” in Watsonville on Thursday. The flier circulated throughout the Bay Area, Honda said, and caused a stir locally. Dozens...

For more than three decades Ana Ortega has been making folks happy. As the owner of Ana’s Flowers, a modest flower tent adjoining the long-standing Capitola Produce, she has thrown her talent and keen eye into making dazzling flower arrangements for everyone from everyday passersby to grand-scale events.

ROYAL OAKS—North Monterey County farmer and businessman Glenn Church, whose family’s roots in the area date back to the Civil War, announced on Thursday that he is running for District 2 Supervisor. The election will take place on June 7, 2022. In a press release...

Update (1pm, Oct. 16) The Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit (CZU) announced that the evacuation orders put in place Friday evening in response to the Estrada Fire have been changed to evacuation warnings. It also announced that the fire was 25% contained. ORIGINAL STORY WATSONVILLE—Firefighters battling a...