Leaving behind 33 years of firefighting
His boots and helmet are now a thing of the past. Aptos/La Selva firefighter Rick Molinar worked his final 24-hour shift Wednesday and into Thursday following a 33-year career.
Historic Aptos building faces uncertain future after Sunday night fire
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...
John Doyle to play house concert
SOQUEL — The Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay will present guitarist and singer/songwriter John Doyle on June 5 at 7:30 p.m. at a house concert in Soquel.
The Irish musician has long been known for his guitar and bouzouki work, from his early days with Irish supergroup Solas, to his duo work with fiddler Liz Carroll, to his work with Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O'Leary as the Alt, to his collaboration with Scottish fiddler John Mckusker and piper Mike McGoldrick.
Pajaronian joins donation campaign Santa Cruz Gives
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaronian this year has jumped on the growing digital giving movement Santa Cruz Gives, the first crowdsourcing website for multiple Santa Cruz County nonprofits.
The campaign, which launched for its fifth holiday season Wednesday, raises funds for 37 selected nonprofits via SantaCruzGives.org, where donors...
Sheriff’s detectives arrest wallet thief
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...
Extended Learning Program dishes thousands of bags to area students
WATSONVILLE—A huge program is underway in Watsonville to help keep students finely tuned and focused on education through the summer.
Jen Bruno, a curriculum coach, said the Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Extended Learning Programs (ELP) over the past few weeks has loaded more than...
Santa Cruz County Covid-19 cases see largest jump to date
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County on Monday saw its largest single-day jump, 20, in Covid-19 cases since the virus started its spread along the Central Coast in early March.
The case spike increases the county’s active cases to 100, and raises its total case count...
Hundreds of evacuated animals held at Fairgrounds; room still available
WATSONVILLE—While the fire evacuation center at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds is reaching capacity for humans—only single cots and limited tent camping space are available—there is still room for pets and other animals.
Hundreds of animals have been evacuated to the fairgrounds since the CZU...
Nonprofit coalition working for pay equity
APTOS—Nonprofit workers in Santa Cruz County are two times more likely than the general public to require the very social services they help provide.
That’s according to a recent survey conducted by the Human Care Alliance (HCA), a coalition of nonprofit agencies from around the...
Firefighters get first ‘jump’ on CZU Complex fires
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Seven days into the battle against the CZU August Lightning Complex fires, Cal Fire officials announced Saturday morning that they were able to get their first “jump” on the growing blaze in the Santa Cruz mountains.
Although the fire overnight grew to 63,000...
