News

Pajaro Valley Healthcare District—the public agency tasked with running Watsonville Community Hospital—announced Wednesday that they plan to purchase the building and surrounding property, a major milestone in a years-long endeavor to return the facility to public ownership. The unanimous decision came during a closed-session discussion,...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Wetlands Watch’s (WWW) Climate Corps Leadership Institute recently scored a $300,000 Youth Community Access grant from the California Natural Resources Agency. Climate Corps Leadership Institute (CCLI), formed in 2020, grew out of WWW’s Green Careers Institute. It works to increase youth access to the...

The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County has opened the nomination period for the 15th Annual Be the Difference Awards. The awards honor the individuals, groups, nonprofits and businesses that transform Santa Cruz County through volunteerism. People can share their stories of inspiration by nominating...

NOTE: Reporter Tarmo Hannula also contributed to this article. SOQUEL — Nissan has recently withdrawn its approved application to build a dealership on the corner of 41st and Soquel, Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold announced Monday. “We are starting to see new economic impacts from...

A high-ranking administrator at Cabrillo College has been charged with embezzlement by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Paul De La Cerda, the current Vice President of Instruction at Cabrillo, faces one felony count of misappropriation of government funds, and another felony count of...

WATSONVILLE—After years of waiting, advocating, fighting and fretting, people who live near the Pajaro River – and in the community around it – can breathe a sigh of relief. That’s after a feasibility report released Thursday by the Army Corps of Engineers, and a separate...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Monday held the first of a four-day series of talks that will lay out how the county will allocate its $878 million budget, a task made more complex by the financial impact of the Covid-19...

MONTEREY COUNTY—Monterey County agriculture’s gross production value bounced back by 4.8% in 2021 to just over $4.1 billion, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that also resulted in supply chain shortages. This increase represents a $190 million rise from 2020, when the gross production value was...

In the half-century since its inception, Renaissance High School has offered students a small, specialized serene environment for students who need to make up missing credits, and for those with difficulty fitting into a traditional school.  The remote location and small class sizes help many...