Groups sound off on syringes as comment deadline nears
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A Santa Cruz-based community organization this month publicly stated its opposition to a proposal that would increase the distribution of needles to drug addicts, saying that similar efforts have led to increased numbers of used ones found in public places.
The letter by...
Gov. Newsom: mail-in ballots for all voters in November
SACRAMENTO—Every registered voter in California will receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the November election after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Friday.
The order requires that each county’s elections officials send vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 3 general election to all registered voters.
Californians...
Supervisors restore most arts funding in budget
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a revised $20.9 million budget for the Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services Department, restoring several services that had been slated for cuts while preserving most county funding for local arts organizations.
The spending...
County unveils vendors for senior meal program
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The County of Santa Cruz announced that five local food businesses have been chosen to deliver fresh, nutritious meals to hundreds of local seniors during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Great Plates Delivered serves food to vulnerable older adults through a federal economic stimulus for...
‘Keep smiling:’ Longtime Aptos High custodian dies
Robert “Bobby” Salazar, the unofficial mayor of Aptos who served as security guard and maintenance man for Aptos High School for more than four decades, and who was known for his ever-present smile and exhortations for everyone he met to “keep smiling,” died March 17 after a battle with cancer. He was 62.
PVUSD to lay off two dozen employees
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a proposal to lay off as many as 24 classified employees, a move district officials say was necessary due to declining enrollment.
Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez told the board that the district has lost...
Man arrested for celebratory gunfire gone awry
FREEDOM—A Freedom man was arrested Saturday after a bullet he fired during a July 4 celebration ricocheted off the ground and entered a nearby residence, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said.
The bullet came within inches of a 10-year-old girl in her Miller...
Watsonville Prep asks PVUSD for more space
WATSONVILLE—A charter school that opened in Pajaro Valley Unified School District in 2019 – and which was tentatively slated to move into the former Gottschalk’s building on Main Street for the 2020-21 school year – will remain at E.A. Hall Middle School for at...
Caltrans safety improvement projects planned for Hwy. 129 & 152
Caltrans crews will perform safety improvement projects in Watsonville starting March 30, which will result in daytime and overnight closures of lanes along Highway 129 and 152.
Travelers will encounter the following closures:
• Hwy 129, from Highway 1 to Union Street: Daytime lane closures Monday...
