Man who died in Capitola fire identified
The 75-year-old man who died when his home caught fire late Monday night in Capitola Village has been identified as Robert Edgren.
Ashley Kheen of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office did not release the cause of death.
Central Fire crews responded to the two-alarm fire...
Santa Cruz Police investigaing ‘suspicious object’
SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz Police are dealing with a ‘suspicious object’ that was found on the West Side of Santa Cruz Wednesday afternoon, forcing the closure of several roads and a shelter-in-place order for residents.
Police have teamed up with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s bomb...
Pacific Collegiate School seeks board members
The Pacific Collegiate School (PCS) Board of Directors is looking for individuals interested in applying for board service.
Soquel man arrested for child sex crimes
SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a Soquel man suspected of more than a dozen counts of sexual assault of a child.
Luis Ortiz, 59, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
According to Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley...
Aptos High grads tried to make campus safe, diverse for future
APTOS—When Oscar Cisneros was a sophomore at Aptos High School he and his friends felt their school was not celebrating its large cultural diversity.
“This is a diverse campus,” he said. “There are so many cultures that should be celebrated.”
Together, they created the Migrant Student...
Man arrested for large cache of drugs, guns
SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a man after finding more than three pounds of heroin and several illegal firearms in his possession.
Joseph Watts, 65, was charged with drug possession, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He...
Cool weather helps firefighters notch ‘best day yet’
SCOTTS VALLEY—Cool, moist weather throughout the day continued to help firefighters battle the CZU August Lightning Complex fires, which have now scorched 78,684 acres, and as of Monday night was 13% contained, firefighters told reporters during a press conference.
During the conference, Santa Cruz County...
Cabrillo students wrestle with academic, economic uncertainty
By Jazmin Juarez, Special to the Pajaronian
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The coronavirus has brought many changes to people’s everyday lifestyle. Among them, the transition from in-person to online classes for students.
In Santa Cruz County, Cabrillo College switched to online courses on March 16. The school has...
County dipping into reserves to cover Covid-19 deficit
SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Chief Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios told the Board of Supervisors Monday that it should spend $20 million in reserves to fill a deficit for the 2019-20 fiscal year caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
That move will be a sizable slice of...
Newsom issues statewide order as Santa Cruz County reports another COVID-19 case
CALIFORNIA—Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide “stay at home” order on Thursday evening, bringing California’s nearly 40 million residents in line with shelter-in-place orders recently issued by Santa Cruz and Monterey county officials.
The directive goes into effect this evening, Newsom said at a press...



















