Local News

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Monday held the first of a four-day series of talks that will lay out how the county will allocate its $878 million budget, a task made more complex by the financial impact of the Covid-19...

SANTA CRUZ—Staff of Life, a popular natural foods market in Santa Cruz for more than 50 years, announced Monday that an employee tested positive for Covid-19. “We have made the decision to temporarily close after learning a member of our staff has been diagnosed with...

SANTA CRUZ—A man wanted for the 2009 murder of a Santa Cruz boy was brought back to the United States Monday after a five-month extradition process from Mexico, Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell announced. Paulo Luna, 34, is a suspect in the Oct....

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A Santa Cruz METRO employee has tested positive for Covid-19. The information surfaced in local media Friday and marks the first positive case in METRO’s staff of around 300 people. “Out of respect for the employee's privacy, we are not disclosing anything other than...

CONDADO DE SANTA CRUZ—La Junta de Supervisores del Condado de Santa Cruz aprobó una ordenanza temporal que permitirá el condado emitir multas a las personas que violen las órdenes de salud, incluido no usar una cubierta facial donde sea necesario. El nuevo código del condado...

Tarmo Hannula Last week fellow reporter, Johanna Miller and I drove out along San Andreas Road to get a few photos and a feel of the current agricultural scene. The strawberry fields were abuzz with harvesters. From what I could see everyone was wearing a...

NOTE: Reporter Tarmo Hannula also contributed to this article. SOQUEL — Nissan has recently withdrawn its approved application to build a dealership on the corner of 41st and Soquel, Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold announced Monday. “We are starting to see new economic impacts from...

WATSONVILLE—One week after the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees approved a distance learning plan for the 2020-21 school year, the district signed an agreement with the teachers’ union on Thursday that approves the finer details of how teachers will return to...

WATSONVILLE—The Covid-19 pandemic has hit businesses hard, from the largest of companies to the smallest mom-and-pop shops. Rules continue to change as cases flatten and then spike, leaving business owners dealing with back-and-forth openings and closures. But for those who made their living off of...

TARMO HANNULA I got off of the METRO 69A bus Thursday morning at the corner of Green Valley Road at Main Street to check out an incident where five Watsonville Police cars and a fire engine were present at the edge of the Crossroads Center....