Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—When Calabasas Elementary School fourth-grader Rosinely Resendez isn’t doing schoolwork in her tiny house in Watsonville, or independently teaching herself algebra online through Khan Academy, she is helping her mother care for her three siblings, including a 2-month-old sister. Rosi, as her friends...

In that vision, thousands of people using that trail will significantly reduce the load on Highway 1, thus improving commute times and solving a problem that has long plagued the county. That vision is different from that of the county’s rail advocates, who hope that a passenger train will one day serve more than 3,600 people daily. On Tuesday, a group of Greenway supporters handed a stack of petitions with more than 10,000 signatures to Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s new director Guy Preston. Supporters say the petition shows overwhelming support from county residents to convert the rail line into a pedestrian and bike trail.

APTOS—Cabrillo College students will return to in-person instruction when classes resume in the fall, spokeswoman Kristin Fabos announced Tuesday. According to Fabos, more than 50% of course offerings feature face-to-face or hybrid instruction during the fall term, which begins Aug. 16. The college will continue...

LIVE OAK—Santa Cruz County’s first-ever inclusive playground officially opened Saturday at Chanticleer Park in Live Oak  LEO's Haven, a playground designed to welcome children with disabilities such as blindness, mobility impairment and autism, is the centerpiece of the $4 million rebuild of the 4.5-acre park. The...

In an era where agriculture meshes with technology — and environmental sustainability is a rule — Cabrillo College has created a major that combines all three.

RIO DEL MAR—A fire that apparently started in a pile of rubble in an alleyway behind the SeaBreeze Tavern late Sunday night has destroyed the building, bringing to a close a story that began when it was built 92 years ago in what was...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County officials on Monday ordered all residents to stay home unless engaging in "essential services." The shelter-in-place order, which goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday and lasts through April 7, is an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19,...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Watsonville firefighters had a “very busy Fourth of July” as they responded to a total of 24 calls in the 24-hour period surrounding the holiday, including medical calls and fires to vegetation, dumpsters and structures. Units were also out patrolling for illegal...

APTOS—Lasting memories of loved ones, events, businesses and organizations might now last a little longer in Aptos thanks to the Celebration Brick Program and a festive ribbon-cutting ceremony that unfolded Saturday. About 100 people gathered around one of eight tree wells at the Village Green,...