Deputies arrest 5 suspected looters as CZU Lightning Complex fires grow
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Friday arrested five people suspected of looting evacuated homes on Fall Creek Drive, a small community in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Felton.
Jose Gandarilla, Susana Luna, Crystal Araujo, Sara Loretz and Crystle Parstch-Lucchesi face numerous felony...
The circus comes to town
The Circus has come to town, this time at Ramsay Park on Main Street in Watsonville.
Circus Royal Spectacular—out of Las Vegas—rolled into town Tuesday, and crews quickly began driving giant tent stakes into the softball diamond to set up their mammoth bigtop tent.
Circus spokesperson...
Santa Cruz County off state watchlist, for now
SANTA CRUZ—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pulled Santa Cruz County off the state Covid-19 watchlist, a move that could allow the easing of some restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus.
Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel in a Monday...
County could have ‘some level’ of herd immunity by late spring, officials say
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Just hours before President Joe Biden said that every adult in the United States should have access to a Covid-19 vaccine by May 1, Santa Cruz County health officials said they expect the county will march along into the orange tier of...
Fashion show benefits playground
The Aptos Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Hats off to Spring Fashion” event is not only a way to check out the latest fashions from local businesses, but also a chance to benefit a local organization.
New DNA lab will save money, expedite cases
For years, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office’s sciences lab has been analyzing crime scene evidence: data from cell phones and computers, tire tread marks and fingerprints, just to name a few.
But analyzing DNA evidence—a field that takes not only a science background and...
County Office of Education raises Pride flag
Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah joined two young people at the flag pole at the Office of Education headquarters on Encinal Street in Santa Cruz Friday morning, where they attached a Pride flag that will fly with the U.S. and the...
Capitola celebrates new Park at Rispin Mansion
In the early 1980s, when her eponymous bakery was in its infancy, Gayle Ortiz learned that a developer planned to turn the land surrounding the Rispin Mansion in Capitola into a senior living complex and several private homes.
That plan did not sit well with...
Medina faced sexual misconduct allegations in settled lawsuit
The Digital NEST tech nonprofit settled a sexual harassment lawsuit centered on allegations against Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Gabriel Medina, according to...
