News

WATSONVILLE—As thousands of students throughout Pajaro Valley Unified School District bid farewell to their summer and prepare for a new year, educators and school employees are readying classrooms, sharpening pencils and honing their lesson plans. Such back-to-school preparations have always been a normal part of...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved two items for the June ballot which, if approved by voters, will increase taxes on hotels and vacation rentals, and change the way fees on single-use disposable cups are used. The supervisors also...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) will host a gathering at Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) tonight to celebrate the organization’s first cohort of Cine se Puede fellows.  The Cine se Puede fellowship launched last year. It offers support to local up-and-coming filmmakers through a financial stipend,...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has issued an arrest warrant for a Watsonville man they believe fired multiple shots from a handgun into a car on Aug. 16 in Watsonville. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn said investigators believe 38-year-old David Setterberg of Watsonville shot...

APTOS—In Santa Cruz County, one in four children are considered food insecure, a number Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Willy Elliott‑McCrea called “staggering” and “unacceptable.” The growing numbers of hungry people who struggle to feed themselves and their families was the impetus – and the...

WATSONVILLE—After 18 years at the helm of the Lutheran Community Church of Watsonville, and 40 years total as an ordained minister, Rev. Susan Birkelo will soon retire. Born in Minnesota, Birkelo’s family moved to San Diego when she was still in kindergarten. After school, she...

CAPITOLA—Pier 1 Imports announced Tuesday that it will close all 540 of its stores nationwide, sell its inventory and liquidate its assets. The sales will begin at the Capitola store as soon as the Santa Cruz County Health Department allows it to open. The company’s website...

The Fourth of July parade unfolded along a section of Soquel Drive Thursday, with 103 entries in what has been branded as the World’s Shortest Parade.

Various Bay Area health officers are asking communities to keep their Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos celebrations small to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Traditional trick-or-treating and attending large parties are both considered high-risk activities, according to health officials, because it...

WATSONVILLE—As the second day of Santa Cruz County’s shelter-in-place order dawned Wednesday morning, Watsonville Yoga, Dance and Healing Arts owner Phoenix Artemisia was busy setting up for class—just not as she normally does. Artemisia’s mat was unrolled on the ground of her studio on Main...