Santa Cruz County to revise rules for retail
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel said she will revise her shelter-in-place order later this week, after Gov. Gavin Newsom releases information about slightly loosening statewide restrictions.
Newsom is expected to launch Stage 2 of his “Reopening Roadmap,” which will allow retail...
Seven homes on deck from Habitat for Humanity
A total of seven homes are planned for an ongoing Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay project in the Live Oak area of Santa Cruz.
Findings released for 2022 Oral Health Needs Assessment
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The 2022 State of Oral Health Needs Assessment has revealed the continued massive gap in dental care for low-income residents in Santa Cruz County.
The findings are part of a 2022 study conducted by dental healthcare research firm Barbara Aved Associates. They found...
Bamboo Giant offering first-ever nighttime walkthrough experience
Located on a busy thoroughfare between Aptos and Watsonville, Bamboo Giant Nursery and Gardens (BGNG) could easily be driven past without a second glance.
But the nursery, tucked into the side of a hill in a rural, forested section of Freedom Boulevard, is actually one...
Man dies in Highway 17 crash
LOS GATOS—A 22-year-old man died early Tuesday morning in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 17 in Los Gatos.
The 2:55 a.m. crash, south of The Cats restaurant, forced the California Highway Patrol to close both southbound lanes for 45 minutes to allow for an investigation,...
A giant falls: Fire destroys Aptos radio tower
APTOS—A blaze that Aptos/La Selva Fire said was likely started by a homeless person seeking warmth has felled one of the towers that once reached into the sky alongside Highway 1 in Aptos.
The tower was part of a quintet of now-silent radio antennae that...
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...
Commercial crab season pushed back
SANTA CRUZ—Based on updated information and in response to concerns from the commercial Dungeness crab fleet, including written requests from Port Associations to further delay, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham has delayed the start date for the California Dungeness...
Three decades of PVUSD tales
James Baker spent 30 years in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, working his way up from a teacher to superintendent.
Over those three decades, the school district was faced with integrating bilingual education, a teacher strike, a year-round schedule, the devastation of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and many other trials and tribulations.
