County, UC Santa Cruz partner to further expand Covid-19 testing
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A partnership between UC Santa Cruz and the County of Santa Cruz—and funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act—will allow the county to expand its Covid-19 testing capacity to as many as 800 tests per day, county spokesman Jason...
Second claim filed in Aptos High stabbing
WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District is facing a second lawsuit stemming from the stabbing death of a 17-year-old student on the campus of Aptos High School last August.
The student, referred to in the claim as G.S., died after being attacked by two students, one...
Freedom Bakery celebrates a half-century
Watsonville’s Freedom Bakery—the oldest family-owned bakery in the Monterey Bay region—is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer, marking five decades of providing the community with cakes and other desserts.
The bakery was founded in 1975 by Tony Liu, a Taiwanese immigrant who came to the...
Pride in school runs high for leading Pajaro Valley High seniors
WATSONVILLE—Leaders of this year’s 274 Pajaro Valley High School seniors say the class of 2020 will be remembered for its unwavering school pride and its crazed support of athletics.
Dennar Ocampo and Natalia Arroyo were at the forefront of both.
“A lot of people would say,...
Watsonville Film Festival 2020 cancelled
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) announced Wednesday that it will be cancelling its 2020 festival, which was scheduled to start tomorrow and run through Sunday.
A letter from WFF Executive Director Consuelo Alba and the Board of Directors said that the festival has been cancelled...
Egg drop tests amateur engineers
Area youths tested their engineering skills Friday in downtown Watsonville at the 2026 Egg Drop Challenge.
The 23rd annual contest celebrates National Engineers Week, which aims to honor engineers as well as inspire future generations to join the field.
Groups from local schools, community programs and...
Watsonville sales tax measure campaign kicks off
WATSONVILLE—Around 70 people gathered at Jalisco Restaurant on Wednesday to kick off the campaign for the proposed half-cent sales tax measure that will go before voters in the Nov. 8 midterm election.
Measure R—placed on the ballot by Watsonville City Council in June—would raise the...
Santa Cruz County facing dire financial picture
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County will dip into its budgetary reserves to cover an estimated $20 million deficit in this year’s budget, which stems from revenue losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the request by County Administrative Officer Carlos...
RTC looks to federal, state government to fill rail funding gap
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) will seek funding from the state and federal government to support construction planning for a passenger...
