Local News

WATSONVILLE—Graduation for Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s 1,179 seniors this year will look drastically different than it has at any time in its history. That is because the school closures imposed April 1 by state education officials have required students to learn from home for...

Vets 4 Vets, a Santa Cruz County nonprofit supporting local veterans, received two grants that will assist in providing services to veterans in need.

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...

A house was fully engulfed in flames at 1250 Valencia School Road in Aptos Sunday evening. The blaze, which was first reported at around 6:45 p.m., ended up burning the structure flat to the ground. No injuries were reported. The family of five that lived at the home were reportedly not in the area at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire in still under investigation.

A California Highway Patrol officer arrested a 16-year-old boy early Wednesday morning on suspicion that he was driving under the influence of alcohol, CHP officer Sam Courtney said.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The CZU August Lightning Complex fires have so far destroyed more than 500 homes and forced 77,000 people to evacuate from their community. Those people have flooded evacuation centers throughout the county. That, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic that has upended the economy...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Wednesday issued new restrictions on the county’s beaches, restricting their use between 11am and 5 pm starting on Saturday. The new restrictions came after hordes of people crowded the beaches and ignored social distancing rules...

Cat & Cloud Coffee threw its doors open early Tuesday in a soft opening to invite the public to their airy indoor, outdoor walk-up counter café.

SALINAS—Two inmates escaped from the Monterey County Adult Detention Facility early Saturday. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said 21-year-old Santos Samuel Fonseca and 20-year-old Jonathan Salazar were both awaiting trial on unrelated murder charges along with numerous other felony charges. The MCSO said Saturday it was...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County health officials identified 37 new Covid-19 cases—the county’s largest single-day jump since the virus started its spread—on Monday, increasing the number of new cases over the last eight days to 142. There are 216 active cases in the county, and...