County mandates Covid vaccine or weekly testing for its employees
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to require all of 2,400 County employees to either take the Covid-19 vaccine or submit to weekly testing.
Employees who refuse both risk termination, or being put on leave without...
State prioritizes farmworkers for Covid-19 vaccinations
CALIFORNIA—As California deals with a surge of Covid-19 cases, hope is in sight as the vaccine begins to be administered to healthcare workers and long-term care residents.
And on Jan. 13, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that farmworkers would be included in the next tier.
The announcement...
Flyover honors first responders, essential workers
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A team of six pilots took the sky over Santa Cruz County Saturday in a first-ever local aerial tribute to those giving to their community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lightning Formation Airshows (LFA), with support from Watsonville Municipal Airport, painted the sky with...
County’s young people invited to spend ‘Noon in the Park’
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Families across Santa Cruz County are invited to participate in Noon in the Park, a free, virtual program featuring community leaders singing, reading books and creating art.
Each day is different.
Kate Pavao and Aaron Lazenby, who run the Live Like Coco Foundation, will...
Officials hope guidelines slow virus’ spread on Father’s Day
WATSONVILLE—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday updated its recommendations for personal and social activities, giving people a brief playbook of how they can lessen their chance of contracting the novel coronavirus while dining at restaurants, using gyms and attending gatherings.
Though health...
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...
Supervisor Friend hosting tele-town hall to discuss farmworker protections
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend tonight will host a tele-town hall from 6-7pm with guest Tom AmRhein to talk about the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
AmRhein, the former president of the Farm Bureau and the current chair of...
New housing program helps farmworkers during Covid-19 pandemic
WATSONVILLE—Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 24 revealed a new temporary housing program that aims to help agricultural workers across the state better protect themselves and their families during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Housing for the Harvest will offer temporary hotel housing to workers who need to...
Santa Cruz County restricts beaches, loosens order to reopen several industries
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Thursday indefinitely extended the shelter-in-place order issued on March 31. She also closed the county’s beaches between the hours of 11am and 5pm.
Both moves are meant to further reduce the spread of COVID-19 by...
PVUSD delays decision on school opening plan
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously voted to delay a decision on how to resume classes in August, to give district officials time to investigate all of their options.
Still undetermined is which risk level the district will use...
