Local News

Additional reporting by Todd Guild SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—With the onset of warmer, sunny days, droves of people have been showing up at area beaches and parks, especially on weekends, even as the shelter-in-place order has hit day 41.  And beginning April 25, Santa Cruz County also...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville city officials on Friday closed the City Hall building for a deep cleaning after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, City Manager Matt Huffaker confirmed. The employee is now self-isolating and under medical care, Huffaker said.  All employees that were in direct contact with the...

California weighed in with its single worst death toll Wednesday with 117 people dying from COVID-19. The overall state death total at the close of Wednesday was 1,433. Gov. Gavin Newsom in a news briefing said there are 37,679 state cases. There were 1,877...

SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced a plan to get meals to isolated older adults by paying the restaurant industry to prepare and deliver breakfast, lunch and dinner for them. The governor said the program was created to give a lifeline to seniors at home,...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville High School junior with a bright future in professional landscaping has earned top honors for his intimate knowledge of turfgrass management. Juan Herrera, 17, works for Watsonville-based K&D Landscaping as a turfgrass expert and manager.  A member of the Watsonville FFA chapter, Herrera is...

By Jazmin Juarez, Special to the Pajaronian SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The coronavirus has brought many changes to people’s everyday lifestyle. Among them, the transition from in-person to online classes for students. In Santa Cruz County, Cabrillo College switched to online courses on March 16. The school has...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville area has the lowest number of COVID-19 cases in Santa Cruz County, according to data from the county health department. There were 29 known COVID-19 cases in South County as of Wednesday, compared to 33 in North County and 45 in Mid-County. North...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District has filed a lawsuit against e-cigarette company Juul Labs Inc. for its role in creating an epidemic among young people. The lawsuit, which includes 25 school districts throughout California, also blames the company for the resurgence of young people that...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Mayor Rebecca Garcia had a request during a conference call with Santa Cruz County leaders: don’t forget our Spanish speaking population. The longtime outspoken community activist now in charge of the county’s most densely populated city and largest Latino community pushed leaders to add...