News

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...

A giant $8,000 check is presented to Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services Friday by State Senator Laird (second from left) along with Spectrum representatives. The money is part of Spectrum's digital education grant, a five-year, $7 million commitment to digital education in Spectrum...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Students throughout Santa Cruz County will no longer be required to wear masks while at school after March 11. The announcement, signed by the County’s 11 school superintendents, came Monday after California Gov. Gavin Newsom, along with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington...