Local News

Four awarded Rydell Visual Arts Fellowships Four local visual artists have been selected by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County to receive Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship awards for 2024 and 2025.  The awardees are Christian Rex van Minnen, Louise Leong, Maria Isabel LeBlanc and Shirin Towfiq. Each fellowship...

Polka band to perform at Oktoberfest Oktoberfest returns to Messiah Lutheran Church, 801 High St. in Santa Cruz, on Sept. 30 from noon to 4pm. The event will feature German food, beer and wine, along with various activities for children and families. The Thirsty Nine polka band...

Plans to build 624 units of affordable student housing on Cabrillo College’s Aptos campus got the green light Monday when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to fund the project. The dual Senate and Assembly bills, both numbered 142, will provide $111 million for the...

Michael McCollum, who worked as staff photographer at the Pajaronian from1987 to 1996, died March 9 in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was 67.  Born on April 27, 1957, to Garland McCollum and Katherine Fromm-McCollum in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, Mik was 2 when the family moved...

Local farmers Zea Sonnabend and Javier Zamora talk Aug. 17 about both of their farming operations and how a $1 million loan from California FarmLink boosted their businesses.

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Nature Center is opening for visitors this weekend for the first time since the pandemic. A bilingual open house will be held Saturday from 3-5pm, with a workshop on emergency wildfire preparedness. Numerous organizations and agencies will be on hand for the event,...

Construction crews are wrapping up a sizable section of the College Lake Pipeline Project on Bridge Street in front of the Watsonville Buddhist Temple after drilling delays.  Marcus Mendiola, Water Conservation and Outreach Specialist with the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, said “the pipe is...