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Aptos
May 17, 2026

Gutzwiller remembered for beaming smile, passion for community

Damon Gutzwiller
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—As arrangements are being made for the memorial of Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, who was gunned down June 6 in Ben Lomond, local colleagues and fellow law enforcement personnel are gathering their thoughts about the man with the beaming...

New dashboard details school-based Covid-19 testing results

Schools Covid
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Office of Education (COE) has launched a dashboard that summarizes Covid-19 testing results across schools countywide. The dashboard is a partnership with school districts, Inspire Diagnostics and the Santa Cruz County Department of Public Health, COE spokesman Nick Ibarra...

Teens arrested after e-bike chase; CHP offers rules

Two teens were arrested on March 10 after leading police on a chase on their e-bikes. Watsonville Police Sgt. Jarrod Pisturino said the department had received numerous complaints about youths speeding through and around the Vista Montaña housing project off of East Lake Avenue at...

Youth band performance supports music program

Be Natural Music is a music school based in Santa Cruz, California, directed by Matthew D Pinck AKA "yoga matt." Our school offers private music lessons, band classes, an after school music program and music camps, as well as the Real Rock Band experience.

RTC publicly discusses railbanking Santa Cruz Branch

roaring camp rtc
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) on Thursday discussed the future of the county’s rail line, and possibly setting it aside for future use while first focusing on building a bicycle and pedestrian path. In a report to the commission, RTC...

Aptos artist brings color to fitness club

Sally Vaughn is showcasing her paintings in a new exhibit at the Cabrillo Fitness Club, 6200 Soquel Drive in Aptos.

School arts funding bill among seven propositions on Nov. 8 ballot

In 2008, as the economic recession was ravaging communities nationwide, school districts were forced to take a close look at their budgets, and in many cases make massive cuts to preserve the meat of their programs. The first casualties of this across-the-board slashing were often...

Adult education graduates find prosperity by looking within

adult education PVUSD graduation
WATSONVILLE—When April Ortiz became pregnant during her senior year at Watsonville High School, severe morning sickness and other complications sidelined her education. Then came the birth. “Mothering was a new life and a new experience,” she said.  Ortiz, now 26, received her GED on May 22 from...

County pilot program aims for unified approach to homelessness

Watsonville homeless
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a project designed to integrate clinical, mental health and housing services to help the county’s population of homeless people with mental illness and substance use disorders The Mental Health Services Act Innovation Plan is...

Second Harvest launches food drive

APTOS—In Santa Cruz County, one in four children are considered food insecure, a number Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Willy Elliott‑McCrea called “staggering” and “unacceptable.” The growing numbers of hungry people who struggle to feed themselves and their families was the impetus – and the...