Local News

SANTA CRUZ—Gabriela Cruz has been named executive director of Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Senderos, making her the first hired staff member after 20 years of being an all-volunteer-based organization.  Senderos, founded in 2001 by indigenous Oaxacan sisters Fe Silva-Robles and Dr. Nereida Robles Vasquez, was an...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday amended the county’s rules governing accessory dwelling units (ADU), which county officials say were created to streamline the process for building them.  Under the new rules, old ADUs can be demolished and rebuilt as...

TARMO HANNULA: Temperatures sunk into the 30s overnight. The National Weather Service said rain will drench our region Thursday, starting up before 8 a.m. • More than 17.9 million acres have now burned in Australia’s bush fires, an area larger than Belgium and Denmark combined. So far...

WATSONVILLE—During the next school year, every student in Pajaro Valley Unified School District can get a free breakfast and lunch, nutrition director Linda Liu said. Students and their families will not be required to fill out applications for free and reduced lunches to participate, she...

Thousands of visitors poured into the 25th annual Watsonville Strawberry Festival over the weekend to relish the cash crop of the Pajaro Valley.

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday delayed a decision on changing the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) they have with local unions to perform large infrastructure projects, but not before a contentious hearing that packed the meeting chambers with union workers. The issue will return to...

An eerie pall of drift smoke has enveloped the Central Coast over the past few days.

APTOS—Ever since the first shelter-in-place order went into effect in March, Cabrillo College’s art gallery has been working to adapt and keep afloat. This has meant moving all exhibits to virtual formats and focusing on social media outreach while continuing to support students. In early...