71.7 F
Aptos
April 8, 2026

PVUSD Trustees grapple with possible school closures, grim budget outlook

Pajaro Valley Unified School District teachers often dread the week of March 15, the state’s deadline to issue layoff notices or “pink-slips” to workers across the district.  These notices are preliminary warnings, and don’t always guarantee an official termination of employment. But in past years,...

County’s budget cuts to Sheriff’s Office eased

County of Santa Cruz budget
SANTA CRUZ— The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an $874 million budget for the coming year that includes cuts and position reductions to every department in the county. According to County Budget Manager Christina Mowrey, the reductions include furloughs of 5-10%,...

County officials monitoring coronavirus outbreak

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the spread of coronavirus a global health emergency, saying that its spread can still be halted if all countries take strong countermeasures. “...all countries should be prepared for containment, including active surveillance, early detection, isolation and...

Transportation commission approves corridor study

By a narrow 7-4 margin, the commissioners also approved a contract with Minnesota-based Progressive Rail to provide the passenger service. The company currently runs freight rail operations in South County.

New fitness center at Rancho Del Mar

Anytime Fitness, the ninth addition to a chain business of fitness centers that dot the map between Gilroy, Prunedale and Monterey, is slated to open in early July in Aptos.

Fire rages through Sonoma wine country

Twelve wildland fires are raging across California, some spurring mass evacuations and destroying multiple homes. In Sonoma County, 21,900 acres have burned in the Kincade Fire as of Friday. That blaze in popular wine country more than doubled in size in a 24-hour block. Thus...

Richard Del Piero, one of PVUSD’s founders, dies

Richard Del Piero
WATSONVILLE—Richard Del Piero was a Watsonville High School graduate, a U.S. Air Force Veteran and a local farmer who as a school board member in the 1960s helped reign in several local education agencies to create the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.  Del Piero died...

County park will honor late Sheriff’s deputy

Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller
APTOS—Plans were announced Thursday of a major renovation of Willowbrook County Park to honor the late Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, who was gunned down in the line of duty in 2020. The project of “reimagining” the park was announced in a brief...

All Santa Cruz County schools to close March 16-20

Santa Cruz County Office of Education
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Office of Education on Thursday evening announced that all schools in the county will be closed from March 16-20. The announcement was emailed to parents throughout the county one day after a case was confirmed in a person with...

Aptos burglary case ends in mistrial

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office will retry the case of a man who was shot as he allegedly broke into an Aptos residence to burglarize it. The trial of Damien Welch ended in mistrial Friday when a single juror did not agree...