Link crew introduces freshmen to new school
On Wednesday, some 500 freshmen stepped onto the Watsonville High School campus for their orientation, the beginning of a four-year journey that will present untold challenges and growth opportunities. They were met by the school's Link Crew.
The team 120 upperclassmen will be there throughout...
Reward offered, video released in kidnapping case
PLEASURE POINT—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office on Wednesday released a video of the suspects who allegedly kidnapped a man from his Pleasure Point home last month and then killed him.
Tushar Atre, 50, was kidnapped from his upscale oceanfront home on Oct. 1 around...
More than 700 structures destroyed by CZU Complex fire; now 24% contained
SCOTTS VALLEY—The level of containment in the CZU August Lightning Complex fires continues to increase, and so does the number of confirmed destroyed and damaged structures.
The blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains has destroyed 746 structures and is still threatening more than 13,000 others...
Round ‘em up! | Photo
A rider helps out in the Summertime Fun Outback Cutting competition at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Thursday. The event, which runs through Sunday, is free and open to the public. Ashley Thomas, show secretary, said the competition offers “great fun” for everyone.
Parks Commission nixes public art fee
WATSONVILLE—The Parks and Recreation Commission on Monday recommended Watsonville City Council turn down a $200 processing fee for murals and other public art.
The fee would be used to defray the cost of city staff preparing reports on proposed public art for presentation to the...
Group sparks conversation about valley’s pesticide use
WATSONVILLE—A newly formed community group with the vision of reducing the use of pesticides in the Pajaro Valley is taking on international berry giant Driscoll’s.
The Campaign for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture (CORA) recently sent a letter to Driscoll’s CEO Miles Reiter calling for the...
Staff of Life closes for cleaning after employee contracts Covid-19
SANTA CRUZ—Staff of Life, a popular natural foods market in Santa Cruz for more than 50 years, announced Monday that an employee tested positive for Covid-19.
“We have made the decision to temporarily close after learning a member of our staff has been diagnosed with...
Late-night blaze razes World War II-era building near Watsonville
LA SELVA BEACH—Fire ripped through an historic building on the Monterey Bay Academy campus Saturday night.
By Sunday morning all that remained of the former auditorium on the coastal outskirts of Watsonville were a few remnants of framework that protruded through a bed of ash.
Firefighters...
Santa Cruz County not yet joining other Bay Area counties in closures
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County officials on Friday said they will not yet join five other Bay Area counties in preemptively adhering to the regional stay-at-home order announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom Thursday.
Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Marin and Santa Clara counties will adopt...
Watsonville nurses rally against ICU closure
Several dozen Watsonville Community Hospital nurses and staff warned Wednesday that closing the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit—an idea they said officials have floated amid...
