Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—In response to the state’s declaration of a State of Emergency as a result of the threat of COVID-19, and other recent federal, state and county guidance, Santa Cruz (METRO) announced sweeping changes set for Monday. On Thursday Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered California’s...

WATSONVILLE—The road has been rocky this year for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, as the state went from a rosy pre-coronavirus budget surplus in January to the potential of $19 million in reductions in May. Those numbers have changed yet again, after Gov. Gavin...

Doug Deaver will be honored as Man of the Year, and Kristin Fabos as Woman of the Year. The Business of the Year went to Rio Sands Hotel, while the Organization of the Year is the Advocates for the Forest of Nisene Marks. Rounding out the list is LEO's Haven with the Outstanding Achievement award, and the County of Santa Cruz Department of Public Works as Community Heroes. The awardees will be honored at the chamber's Annual Awards Dinner and Auction on Oct. 27 from 5:30-9:45 p.m. at the Seascape Beach Resort. Admission is $85 per person, and RSVPs must be made by Oct. 13. For reservations, call 688-1467 or email [email protected].

A collage by a student named Jeremy, grade 8, was created in the art class of Janas Durkee at Pacific Coast Charter School in Watsonville.

As a member of the elite Air Mobility Command 60th security forces—a unit also known as the Phoenix Raven Team—Steven Carrillo was the U.S. Air Force’s version of a Military Police officer. For a time, one of Carrillo’s jobs was to issue weapons at the...

During the winter of 2006-2007, beekeepers across the country began noticing a steep decline in bee populations. It was Colony Collapse Disorder: a phenomenon in which a large percentage of a hive’s worker bees disappear, leaving behind their queen and a handful of bees to care for everything. Often, the hive will eventually perish. Emily Bondor of Santa Cruz Bee Company thinks that the collapse which occurred a little over a decade ago is what kickstarted a sort of “beekeeping renaissance” in North America. People began noticing the inactivity and decline of honeybees and were inspired to take action.

CENTRAL COAST—With the start of winter 15 days away, the final remnants of fall have set the stage with a blast of cold wet weather, accompanied by several sessions of strong winds. David King, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service of Monterey, said Watsonville...

PLEASURE POINT—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office on Wednesday released a video of the suspects who allegedly kidnapped a man from his Pleasure Point home last month and then killed him. Tushar Atre, 50, was kidnapped from his upscale oceanfront home on Oct. 1 around...

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk can be seen in Paramount Picture’s new "Transformers" spin-off movie "Bumblebee," which is now playing in theaters.

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...