Internet company, educators work to bridge ‘digital divide’
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A team of local educators is teaming up with a Santa Cruz internet provider to bridge the so-called digital divide and bring broadband service to families who have been unable to access it.
The Equal Access Santa Cruz County (EASCC) fund is a...
Local high school sports pushed to December
CENTRAL COAST—The Central Coast Section, the local governing body for schools stretching from San Francisco along the coast to King City, this week unveiled its plans for the fall sports season and beyond.
The governing board on Tuesday announced in a press release that mid-December...
CalFresh benefits now available to wildfire victims
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Starting today and running through Oct. 22, Disaster CalFresh food benefits may be available to residents impacted by the CZU August Lightning Complex wildfires.
Santa Cruz County is one of six wildfire-impacted counties (the others being Monterey, San Mateo, Solano, Lake and Yolo)...
An inflated sense of fun
A Sand City family with a successful bounce-house business there has opened a second location in downtown Watsonville.
City Council, D6: Next Mayor to be determined in November
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...
Riverside Road homeless camp dismantled
WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office deputies dismantled a homeless encampment on Riverside Road set up by a group that last month battled with the city of Watsonville over another camp on Bridge Street.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn said that the department posted a 72-hour...
Two suspects arrested for shooting at CHP
SCOTTS VALLEY—The California Highway Patrol has arrested two people they say shot at a CHP officer Tuesday night in Scotts Valley.
Alexandria Luevanos, 41, of Berkeley, and Kristopher Payopay, 40, of Lathrop, were arrested after officers said they led them on a chase down Highway...
PVUSD elementary schools plagued by multiple power outages
WATSONVILLE—Calabasas and Bradley elementary schools have since the beginning of the school year been beset by at least six power outages—some lasting for hours—that disrupt students’ academic day and make technology-dependent lessons all but impossible.
Worse, the loss of power means that the ventilation systems...
Community rallies around garden and kitchen project at Starlight
Last February, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees approved bringing the Emeril Lagasse Culinary Garden and Teaching Kitchen project to Starlight Elementary School, aiming to teach local students how to grow, prepare and cook their own food.
The project, founded by the...
New leadership, shared priorities: Investing in the future of public safety
As we begin a new year, I want to reflect on the direction of public safety in Watsonville and the leadership helping guide that...
