County: face coverings required when shopping
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Starting this week, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel will begin requiring customers and staff at essential businesses such as grocery stores to wear face coverings to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The order will follow requirements in place throughout...
Aptos thrift store breaks own gift-giving record
APTOS—Since Caroline’s Nonprofit Thrift Shop opened its doors in 2010, owner Christy Licker has given tens of thousands of dollars to local organizations that support children.
In 2017, Licker handed out $275,000 to 26 organizations, which at the time was a record-breaking amount for the...
New medallions honor history in Memorial Park
Watsonville artist Kathleen Crocetti has created two mosaic medallions for the City of Watsonville, which were installed recently at Memorial Park, located at the confluence of Freedom Boulevard and Main Street.
One depicts a dragon, and is a modern play written by Watsonville’s Steve Spike...
Flocking for a cause
For a man as accustomed to unusual calls as Watsonville’s Fire Chief, Pablo Barreto started his day on Wednesday with an unusual one.
County proposes several budget cuts to health services, law enforcement
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Monday held the first of a four-day series of talks that will lay out how the county will allocate its $878 million budget, a task made more complex by the financial impact of the Covid-19...
Watsonville Hospital holds first community update
The past three years have been transformative for Watsonville Community Hospital, which was facing bankruptcy in late 2021 before a local group banded together to save it.
Now under local ownership—and more importantly, back under local control—the hospital has seen a sea change in its...
Five local elected seats to go unopposed
WATSONVILLE—Kristal Salcido says that she had for months planned to spend the final weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 election walking door-to-door throughout Watsonville’s Fourth District to drum up support for her city council run.
On Wednesday, Salcido received the news that whether or...
District downsizing Ohlone special education program
WATSONVILLE—The special education program at Ohlone Elementary School is facing major changes next year after Pajaro Valley Unified School District shuffled teachers and services at the school.
The school currently has three separate programs for its special ed students, the first of which is a...
Letters to the Editor, Jan. 23–29
Passenger rail price estimates too high
One can never convince me that restoring the Santa Cruz Branch rail line for passenger rail would cost an...
