News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The California Department of Public Health has approved a plan for a local group to operate a syringe services program in Santa Cruz County. Organizers for Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County (HRCSCC) have said they plan to provide syringes to drug...

SAN JOSE—A 29-year-old Aptos man was shot and killed Saturday by police on Highway 85 during a vehicle stop, San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said Wednesday. San Jose Police say that the man, who has not been named, was the passenger during the stop...

Every year, a group of volunteers works to make sure that children in need have a toy to unwrap on Christmas day. This behind-the-scenes work, which begins in late summer, is no small feat. It requires wrangling donations of cash and items to build a...

Willie Yahiro was a Watsonville High School graduate whose love for his community inspired him to make his life and career here. He spent nearly three decades as a Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee and ran his successful eponymous insurance company for years. Yahiro...

Editor’s note: This is the first entry in a series of interviews with candidates running for office in the upcoming local elections. Interviewees will include candidates for the Watsonville City Council, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees, the Pajaro Valley Water...

WATSONVILLE—A man was arrested on Oct. 9 on suspicion of multiple counts of assault, including several counts against a peace officer. Watsonville Police Department Sgt. Mike Ridgway said a group of people experiencing homelessness aided police in tracking down Oscar Partido, 26, around 8am. He...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a transition plan to create a county-run public defender’s office, which includes hiring staff and a chief public defender. County officials are now in talks with attorneys working for Biggam, Christensen and Minsloff (BCM),...

WATSONVILLE—When asked how he and his wife got their start in education, Lowell Hurst responded with a modest, self-deprecating answer synonymous with the longtime politician and educator. “Some people suggested, well, ‘Wendy, you’re bilingual, you’ve got a teaching credential, and, Lowell, we’re really not sure...

WATSONVILLE—With distance learning likely to last through the rest of 2020—and possibly extend through June—the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday tentatively approved the district’s Learning Continuity Plan, a 16-page document that seeks to standardize education for the district’s 19,685...