State gives central coast counties greenlight to open dine-in restaurants, barbershops
The California Department of Public Health approved Covid-19 County Variance Attestation Forms for both Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, the agencies announced Saturday morning.
The acceptance will allow the neighboring counties to advance into Stage 2 of the state's so-called resilience roadmap.
Restaurants can now...
County’s places of worship, retail stores allowed to open at reduced capacity
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Tuesday revised her shelter-in-place order to align most of the county’s restrictions with that of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
The new county order will open places of worship, in-store retail, outdoor museums and limited...
Pier 1 to close all stores
CAPITOLA—Pier 1 Imports announced Tuesday that it will close all 540 of its stores nationwide, sell its inventory and liquidate its assets.
The sales will begin at the Capitola store as soon as the Santa Cruz County Health Department allows it to open.
The company’s website...
School districts brace for looming budget cuts
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Gov. Gavin Newsom on May 14 released an updated state budget that calls for a 10 percent cut to school districts across the state.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez said that the district is looking at a $19.18 million slash.
Watsonville/Aptos/Santa...
Sheriff Hart: ‘We have the right people’ in Tushar Atre Murder case
SANTA CRUZ—Dozens of law enforcement officials in two states arrested four men on Tuesday in connection with the Oct. 1 kidnapping and murder of tech executive and Pleasure Point resident Tushar Atre.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said during a Thursday press conference that...
Cuts looming for Cabrillo as summer enrollment numbers climb
APTOS—A month before summer classes begin on June 15, Cabrillo College is seeing a significant increase in enrollment for that semester, even as college officials gird themselves for a recession and for budget cuts caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, Cabrillo announced Friday that...
Santa Cruz County jail system still free of Covid-19
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has released 93 people from its jail system since March 20, when county Health Officer Gail Newel imposed a series of restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Of the 93 that were released,...
Watsonville Covid-19 testing site now open to all area residents
WATSONVILLE—The Covid-19 community testing site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville is now open to all residents of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
First opened to frontline healthcare workers, first responders and employees working in essential services and roles, the site will now test everyone, including...
State’s undocumented immigrant assistance program starts Monday
The Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County on Monday will begin accepting applications for the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants program.
Announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in mid-April, the program will provide roughly 150,000 undocumented adults a one-time payment of $500 per...
Santa Cruz METRO steps up disinfecting routines to keep rolling
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Deep cleaning is now routine at Santa Cruz METRO to not only keep their fleet on the road, but to assure riders that busses are squeaky clean.
Every day since early March, before the first person in Santa Cruz County was diagnosed with...
