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Aptos
March 23, 2026

Man arrested for celebratory gunfire gone awry

douglas paz
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...

Massive bike ride brings community together

Around 400 bicyclists filled Capitola and Santa Cruz on Aug. 19 as part of a nationwide cycling event to bring bicyclists together to show off their skills and simply bring the community together.

PVUSD bids farewell to longtime board members

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Dec. 12 said farewell to members Willie Yahiro, Leslie De Rose and Jeff Ursino during the annual organizational meeting, which also was a time to swear in three new trustees. The district boardroom was packed with teachers, administrators and community members, who came to pay tribute to Ursino,

Weather gives firefighters a break; CZU Complex fires 5% contained

CZU August Lightning Complex
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Mother Nature is lending a hand in the fight against the CZU August Lightning Complex fires in the Santa Cruz mountains. Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Mark Brunton said a much welcomed marine layer wandered into the Central Coast as the weekend got...

Gov. Newsom: mail-in ballots for all voters in November

Newsom online voting
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...

Fundraiser for slain Sheriff’s deputy raises more than $320k

Damon Gutzwiller
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Peace Officers Research Association of California has established a fundraiser for the family of Damon Gutzwiller, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy who was shot and killed in the line of duty Saturday in Ben Lomond. The account has collected more than...

CHP: DUI suspect struck Capitola police officer

CAPITOLA—A Santa Cruz man was arrested Saturday for felony DUI after allegedly striking a police officer riding a motorcycle, California Highway Patrol Officer Sam Courtney said. Kolton Matosich, 29, was charged with felony DUI. He was not in custody Monday morning, jail records showed. According to...

PVUSD shows off summertime work

WATSONVILLE—Over the summer, Pajaro Valley Unified School District completed 65 maintenance, construction and upgrade projects to the tune of $30 million. That was all thanks to Measure L, the $150 million bond approved by voters in 2012. That bond is nearing the end of its...

Hundreds attend annual MLK march

SANTA CRUZ—Hundreds of people filled the streets of downtown Santa Cruz Monday to participate in the third-annual Martin Luther King march, an event co-sponsored by the NAACP and the Santa Cruz Police Department. “This is a business model of the Santa Cruz Police Department,” said...

Sheriff’s detectives arrest wallet thief

SCOTTS VALLEY—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s detectives on Wednesday arrested a Live Oak man suspected of using credit and bank cards stolen from a firefighter’s truck to make thousands of dollars in purchases. Brian Lee Johnson, 34, has been charged with using stolen credit cards, receiving...