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NOTE: Reporters Todd Guild, Johanna Miller, Tarmo Hannula and Erik Chalhoub contributed to this article. For more than two years, people have clamored for the return to “normal” after the uncertainties of a pandemic. In 2022, we got a taste of normalcy, but it was far...

WATSONVILLE—Since the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of schools nationwide, education officials have been struggling to rebound from the significant—and unanticipated—academic and emotional toll at-home learning wrought on young people. Pajaro Valley Unified School District has since boosted its ranks of socio-emotional counselors and mental...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors reached a milestone Thursday when the first African American person in its 172-year history was sworn in to the District 3 seat before a large audience that packed the chambers. During the same ceremony, Felipe Hernandez...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The California Highway Patrol will ratchet up its roadway vigilance over the New Year’s weekend by conducting a Maximum Enforcement Period from 6:01pm Dec. 30 through 11:59pm Jan. 2. During that time, all available CHP officers will be out on patrol with...

Note: Reporter Tarmo Hannula contributed to this story WATSONVILLE—After nearly three decades with the Watsonville Police Department, Capt. Tony Magdayao has dipped his toes into the quiet waters of retirement. Magdayao was 30 when he joined the department, closing a career that began when he was...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—El Sistema Santa Cruz/Pajaro Valley has been awarded $50,000 by the Lewis Prize for Music, which will help further the nonprofit’s work in bringing music education to local students. El Sistema was named one of 10 finalists for the Lewis Prize for Music’s...

California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murrillo (left), on behalf of the Santa Cruz area CHP, presents a hefty load of Christmas gifts to Selena Frutos and her kids, Julie Rodriguez, 5, Jade Duarte, 2, and Joseph Valencia, 10, as CHP officer Sam Courtney (rear)...