News

WATSONVILLE—Stephen Gerald Bankhead was a longtime Watsonville resident who made learning about Pajaro Valley’s history—and relaying it to the community—his passion in the latter part of his life. Most recently, he wrote the Pajaro Valley Past column for The Pajaronian, taking it over from historian...

CENTRAL COAST—Dozens of volunteers counted 206 species of birds during the annual Christmas Bird Count, which despite its name took place on New Year's Day here in Monterey Bay and in locations throughout the U.S. The numbers will be fused in with the Audubon Society’s...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County (HRCSCC) has received a $100,000 grant, that will allow the nonprofit to expand its services. The grant comes from the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors and is administered by AIDS United in...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce has named Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Willy Elliott-McCrea as this year’s Lifetime Achievement awardee. Santa Cruz Director of Economic Development Bonnie Lipscomb has been named Person of the Year, while Bay Federal Credit Union, 1st Capital...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) returns March 11-20, with virtual and in-person events to celebrate its 10th anniversary.  Consuelo Alba, executive director of WFF, said it felt “unreal” to be reaching such a milestone. “We are incredibly happy to be celebrating 10 years because when we...

APTOS—Cabrillo Gallery will open its first in-person exhibition of 2022 on Monday, with a show exploring the ways in which human beings see and express their own identities.  “Who We Are: Portraying Identity” will feature 27 artworks, from paintings and photography to mixed media and...

APTOS—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies and Cabrillo College administrators are investigating “offensive racist graffiti” that was found scrawled on a newly-painted restroom wall near the college’s Carl Connelly Stadium, Cabrillo President Matt Wetstein said. The graffiti has since been painted over. Neither school officials nor the...

WATSONVILLE—In January, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan for County staff to apply for a piece of state housing funds through a program known as Project Homekey. That project, administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD),...

SANTA CRUZ—The 12th Annual Latino Role Models conference will return on March 12 in a virtual format, with prominent community organizer and activist Dolores Huerta serving as this year’s keynote speaker. Local nonprofit Senderos, which aims to inspire students to achieve their education and career...

APTOS—Students at Aptos Junior High School walked into their newly renovated multipurpose room on Feb. 22, and couldn’t help but jump around on the new, shiny hardwood floors of the space that incorporates a gymnasium and auditorium. “They were just super pumped,” said Aptos Junior...