News

APTOS—Hundreds gathered Wednesday for Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller's memorial at Cabrillo College under brilliant sunny conditions. Gutzwiller, a former Cabrillo student and Aptos resident, was gunned down while on duty June 6 in Ben Lomond. The event began at 7:45am with a...

Since Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Chona Killeen started her position ion July 1, she and her department have hired more than 100 new teachers. The Pajaro Valley Unified School District in early August was still looking for 22 teachers, a number that was shrinking as candidates came in for interviews less than a week before classes resumed, Killeen said. The number is down from about 200 vacancies four weeks ago, said interim Assistant Director of Secondary Education Terry Eastman.

CAPITOLA—Too many housing units. Not in line with Capitola’s “unique” feel and community. A fiscal “wash.”  These critiques and concerns—and several others—came to light at the Capitola City Council’s Nov. 14 meeting concerning the planned redevelopment of the hollowed Capitola Mall. The council took no action...

Robert “Bobby” Salazar, the unofficial mayor of Aptos who served as security guard and maintenance man for Aptos High School for more than four decades, and who was known for his ever-present smile and exhortations for everyone he met to “keep smiling,” died March 17 after a battle with cancer. He was 62.

SANTA CRUZ—Dignity Health Dominican Hospital announced Monday that it has received a $1 million donation, which will be dispersed to hospital employees who have helped fight the coronavirus. The anonymous donor is a “long-time friend” of the hospital who wanted to thank the workers specifically...

SOQUEL—A fire that broke out in a trailer spread into a garage and a collection of classic cars Monday evening on the 600 block of Olive Springs Road. Central and Aptos/La Selva Fire spokesman Mike DeMars said the 5:50 p.m. incident began in a Casita Travel Trailer and then spread...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Deep cleaning is now routine at Santa Cruz METRO to not only keep their fleet on the road, but to assure riders that busses are squeaky clean. Every day since early March, before the first person in Santa Cruz County was diagnosed with...

This year’s grand marshal is Aptos/La Selva Fire Captain, Greg Hansen, who has been with the department for more than three decades.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the spread of coronavirus a global health emergency, saying that its spread can still be halted if all countries take strong countermeasures. “...all countries should be prepared for containment, including active surveillance, early detection, isolation and...

The City of Watsonville on Thursday cancelled several local gatherings because of growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. Those cancellations included its Friday farmers market and its annual Earth Day event, scheduled this year for April 26.  Watsonville City Manager Matt Huffaker said...