A welcome relief
After months of taking a circuitous route to take their children to and from school and to run everyday errands, residents of a small Aptos neighborhood on Aug. 7 for the first time walked across a new bridge that connects them to their community.
Santa Cruz County reports 210th Covid-19 death
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County on Wednesday announced that a man in his 60s died from Covid-19 on Aug. 15.
County spokesman Jason Hoppin said that the man was unvaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
The death was the 210th in Santa Cruz County attributable to...
Supervisors postpone salary question to next year
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to postpone changes to how their salaries are determined, leaving the current system in place until a newly elected supervisor takes office in January.
The board voted 4-1, with Supervisor Manu Koenig dissenting, to table...
County park will honor late Sheriff’s deputy
APTOS—Plans were announced Thursday of a major renovation of Willowbrook County Park to honor the late Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, who was gunned down in the line of duty in 2020.
The project of “reimagining” the park was announced in a brief...
Aptos High grads tried to make campus safe, diverse for future
APTOS—When Oscar Cisneros was a sophomore at Aptos High School he and his friends felt their school was not celebrating its large cultural diversity.
“This is a diverse campus,” he said. “There are so many cultures that should be celebrated.”
Together, they created the Migrant Student...
PVUSD delays decision on school opening plan
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously voted to delay a decision on how to resume classes in August, to give district officials time to investigate all of their options.
Still undetermined is which risk level the district will use...
Fundraiser for slain Sheriff’s deputy raises more than $320k
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Peace Officers Research Association of California has established a fundraiser for the family of Damon Gutzwiller, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy who was shot and killed in the line of duty Saturday in Ben Lomond.
The account has collected more than...
Memorial brick program benefits museum, chamber
Anyone looking to commemorate an anniversary, death or any other important moment in their lives can now announce it right in the heart of the Aptos Village Project.
Friend, Steinbruner face off again for Supervisor seat
Zach Friend is running for his third term as Santa Cruz County Supervisor in the 2nd District against a familiar foe.
Becky Steinbruner, an outspoken community activist living in rural Aptos, will challenge the incumbent for the second time. She lost to Friend in 2016,...
Local author releases new book
Darrow, who goes by the pen name Verlin Darrow, wrote "The Santa Cruz Guru Murders" and "Shrinking the Truth" in the 1990s. He published “Blood and Wisdom” in 2018.
