News

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office will retry the case of a man who was shot as he allegedly broke into an Aptos residence to burglarize it. The trial of Damien Welch ended in mistrial Friday when a single juror did not agree...

APTOS—Since Caroline’s Nonprofit Thrift Shop opened its doors in 2010, owner Christy Licker has given tens of thousands of dollars to local organizations that support children. In 2017, Licker handed out $275,000 to 26 organizations, which at the time was a record-breaking amount for the...

A collage by a student named Jeremy, grade 8, was created in the art class of Janas Durkee at Pacific Coast Charter School in Watsonville.

A 29-foot juvenile humpback whale is shown at the shoreline at Manresa State Beach Monday. Officials said it appeared to have been dead several days at sea before washing ashore several days ago. No cause of death was known to officials.

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...

CAPITOLA — The third annual Santa Cruz County History Fair unfolded in Jade Street Park at the Capitola Community Center on May 18. Twenty-two organizations had displays at the free event that was hosted by the Capitola Historical Museum, said Board President Niels Kisling.

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...

APTOS—Jon Scoville has always been eager to open his mind to new music. Growing up as a minister’s son in Connecticut, Scoville learned the craft by singing in church choirs and around his family’s home piano. But in secret he was also listening to genres...

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...

The World’s Shortest Parade in Aptos lived up to its standard of drawing thousands of people, from babies to seniors, to the street — many with their dogs in tow — for a view of the action. From Little League baseball teams and realty groups, to fire engines, elected officials and modern dance troupes, the parade sent 102 different groups along Soquel Drive under cloudy skies. With nine California Highway Patrol officers lending a hand in traffic control and in shutting down a short section of Soquel Drive, the festive event proved to have a greater showing of entries than any mid-week Fourth of July parade, said Karen Hibble, co-executive director of the Aptos Chamber of Commerce.