News

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Karen Osmundson has held her Area III seat since 2004, and has survived challenges in four elections and garnered support of educators districtwide.  But this year will mark the end of her tenure. While she said she plans to remain...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—When Diversity Center Santa Cruz County established its LGBTQ+ Covid-19 Emergency Aid Fund last year, the organization expected to get some applicants, and then grow slowly by word-of-mouth. They ended up handing out close to $16,000 in just the first six months to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved this fiscal year’s budget, a behemoth $932 million spending plan that represents an 8% reduction in spending from the previous year. That decrease came as the county recovers from the CZU Lightning...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission on Tuesday will make recommendations for possible changes to the city’s cannabis ordinance. The Planning Commission’s agenda was not made available before press time, but a public hearing notice published in this newspaper stated the body would be making recommendations on...

The ninth annual Latino Role Models conference will be held on March 9 at Cabrillo College’s Crocker Theater from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The family of a 15-year-old who was shot to death in Watsonville last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and the County of Santa Cruz.

LIVE OAK—Officials from Meals on Wheels and Senior Network Services are asking the community to make its voice heard about an impending decision by the Live Oak School District (LOSD) to evict the organizations from the building they have called home for nearly five...

SANTA CRUZ—The California Highway Patrol is looking for a driver who fatally struck a pedestrian late Monday night, and then fled on foot. According to CHP Officer Sam Courtney, the 47-year-old victim was walking in the area of Highway 1 north of Shaffer Road when...

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,...

SANTA CRUZ—An unsanctioned homeless camp in Santa Cruz has reopened, this time with a new name, increased security and a set of rules designed to reduce crime and drug use. Now called Camp Phoenix – after the mythological bird that rose anew out of its...