Local News

APTOS—Cynthia Jimenez-Gutierrez says she found inspiration to become a financial planner by helping her immigrant parents with their fiscal issues. After her education, she hopes to make a life in her community helping other immigrant families. “I like to work with money,” she said. “I thought,...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Coroner has identified the three victims in a midair collision between two airplanes on Aug. 18 above Watsonville Municipal Airport.  Carl Kruppa, 75, and Nannette Plett-Kruppa, 67, both of Winton, Calif. were aboard the Cessna 340 twin-engine plane, while Stuart...

MONTEREY COUNTY—A federal magistrate has declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have temporarily stopped Monterey County from evicting a group of people from an unsanctioned campsite along the Pajaro River Levee. In her ruling, Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen said that the plaintiffs...

WATSONVILLE—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 1 signed a bill into law that gives full funding to the long-awaited Pajaro River Levee Project, giving 100-year protection to the people who live in the South County communities that are prone to destructive flooding. Senate Bill 489, authored...

On Nov. 16, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, in partnership with Free Guitars 4 Kids (FG4K) and Arts Council Santa Cruz County’s Mariposa Arts program, celebrated with 120 students who received their own guitars. The event at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s The Grove Ballroom showcased...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved a plan to ease graduation requirements for high school students whose academic record has been damaged by the distance-learning requirements of Covid-19 restrictions. Under the plan, students at risk of failing a...

More than half of pregnant women in Monterey County are exposed to pesticides believed to be harmful to their fetuses, and a quarter of the pesticide used in California is applied in Monterey County. Those statistics are part of a study released Sept. 30 by...

Tarmo Hannula: Santa Cruz has a new mayor: Justin Cummings, 36, a Beach Flats resident was sworn in Tuesday. A biologist, he told the council that he wants to keep Santa Cruz abreast with the latest environmentally sustainable topics. Homelessness is also at the...

A weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like. TONY NUÑEZ Food La Fondita: enchiladas Having our offices in downtown Watsonville has been a delight for me come lunchtime. So many great restaurants. So little time—and money. I’ve started to...

A lighted stroll beneath giant old-growth redwoods is now on the list of things to do at Roaring Camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  In addition to the lengthy list of events such as their Father’s Day Barbecue, Mother’s Day Brunch, the Moonlight Dinner Train...