News

WATSONVILLE—Work began over the weekend on a major restoration of a long-standing outdoor mural at the La Manzana center. Muralist Guillermo “Yermo” Aranda, who is the creative drive behind scores of murals around Santa Cruz County, Salinas and San Diego, said it was time to...

Japanese director Makoto Shinkai made a name for himself when he released “Your Name” in 2016. The fantasy-drama about two teenagers who swap bodies achieved global critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing Japanese animated film of all time. Shinkai followed this success with “Weathering With...

Artists in Santa Cruz County are setting the stage for the annual Open Studios Art Tour which runs three consecutive weekends. After being mothballed last year during the pandemic, this year will offer the public a sweeping array of art, from paintings, photographs, assemblage and...

WATSONVILLE—Mexican Independence Day is Sept. 16, and the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) is teaming up with two Bay Area organizations to bring a celebratory event to the community. Celebrando La Cultura, to be held Sept. 15-18, will include film, music and dance. It begins with...

"Try This" is a weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like.

Fifteen photographs by Scotts Valley photographer Mark Overgaard are currently showing as part of a group exhibit at the Santa Cruz County Government Center.

The County of Santa Cruz has named multi-media artist Guillermo “Yermo” Aranda as the 2021 Artist of the Year. Every year the Arts Commission presents the award to a local artist for their achievements in performing, visual or literary arts, as well as their contributions...

CENTRAL COAST—Many Monterey County farmworkers are going to work despite testing positive for the novel coronavirus, and some of those laborers are doing so because they are concerned about losing their job, their pay or because their employer told them to. That’s according to the...

Total organic fresh produce sales for the first quarter of 2021 saw a continuation of last year’s growth, increasing by 9.3% from the same period in 2020 and topping $2.2 billion for the quarter, according to the Q1 2021 Organic Produce Performance Report released...

SACRAMENTO—Earlier this month, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), Representatives Billy Long (R-MO), Mike Levin (D-CA), and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced bipartisan legislation aiming to help preserve agricultural fairs across the country and offset the devastating financial losses they have experienced due to Covid-19. The Agricultural...