News

The federal government is preparing to open two new industry-specific small-business relief programs, one of them months in the works, as its signature pandemic aid effort, the Paycheck Protection Program, nears its end. The Small Business Administration said it hopes to start taking applications by...

A new phase of the massive outdoor mural project, Watsonville Brillante, was unveiled recently along the Rodriguez Street side of the six-floor parking structure. Around 60 mosaic panels make up phase seven of the 10-phase project that features themes of Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Norway,...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved the Safe Routes to Schools plan, a 472-page document that outlines numerous potential pedestrian and traffic safety projects at 15 Watsonville schools. Also known as the Complete Streets to School Planning Project,...

A viewing party in a Watsonville restaurant Tuesday night for President Donald Trump’s public address drew public attention, with more than 100 Trump supporters gathering inside for the private event, and dozens gathering outside for a counter-protest. The event in Ella’s at the Airport was...

After a year of ups and downs, things are looking good for wineries in the Pajaro Valley. That is according to two long-standing wineries, both nestled in the Pleasant Valley area between Watsonville and Aptos. Alfaro Family Vineyard-Winery was first established in 1997 by Richard...

After a significant portion of the Bonny Doon community mobilized to try to keep a man who raped a 21-year-old woman in the 1980s from moving to town, Santa Cruz County is now seeking changes to California law, so it can have additional tools...

APTOS—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is searching for two suspects in a late-night burglary of an Aptos dentist’s office on Aug. 21. Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said surveillance video captured two men between the ages of 18-30 burglarizing the office. They made off...

California lawmakers in 2024 introduced 4,821 bills, but most of them did not become law, having been tossed or otherwise rejected during the months-long legislative process during which most never saw the light of day. Just 1,206 made it to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, with...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County health officials announced Friday that two more county residents have died of Covid-19 complications, bringing the local death toll to eight. One was a man in his early 60s and the other was a woman in her late 90s. Both...