60.2 F
Aptos
May 23, 2026

County’s places of worship, retail stores allowed to open at reduced capacity

Watsonville in-store
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Tuesday revised her shelter-in-place order to align most of the county’s restrictions with that of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order. The new county order will open places of worship, in-store retail, outdoor museums and limited...

County Supervisors green-light SHIELD ordinance

Santa Cruz County’s immigrant population received an additional measure of protection Tuesday when the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance which, if adopted March 24, would prohibit federal immigration officials from using county property or facilities for immigration-related enforcement...

PV Quilt Show returns to fairgrounds

WATSONVILLE—Meri Henriques Vahl vividly remembers her first major exposure to the world of art quilts.  Vahl was born in New York in 1945, and years later, during a visit to the Frick Museum in the Upper East Side of Manhattan with a friend, she viewed...

 Local robotics club wins top honors

A Santa Cruz County-based science education group took top honors in a regional underwater robotics competition April 25, earning a return trip to an international contest in Newfoundland, Canada. The Hephaestus Robotics Team, part of the Santa Cruz County Office of Education’s X Academy Robotics...

4.6 magnitude earthquake rattles Central Coast

A 4.6-magnitude earthquake centered in Boulder Creek rattled the Central Coast at 1:41am Thursday morning, with tremors felt as far north as Santa Rosa, northwest to Sacramento and Fresno and south to Salinas, according to the United States Geological Survey. No damage or injuries were...

Protest of teacher layoffs continue

Pajaro Valley Unified School District teachers and staff are joined by community supporters early Tuesday morning at The Towers in Watsonville to rally against teacher layoffs.
Several dozen Pajaro Valley Unified School District teachers and staff were joined by community supporters early Tuesday morning at The Towers in Watsonville to rally against teacher layoffs that were approved on Dec. 11. PVUSD administrators declined to comment.  School districts typically cannot comment about ongoing...

A new start in Aptos for Freedom Tattoo

When Freedom Tattoo and Piercing opened in Watsonville a decade ago, they were the first tattoo parlor to come to the city. Now, after moving to Aptos, they are once again the lone tattoo business in town.

Angry Chickz opens, Staff of Life to celebrate 5th year

A new Watsonville businesses celebrated a milestone on Friday, and another is planning its own. Staff of Life grocery store is planning to ring in its five-year anniversary, and Angry Chickz restaurant opened its doors for the first time. Alejandro Rodriguez and his mother used...

Dead body found on Manresa Beach

LA SELVA BEACH — Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating after a woman’s body was found on Manresa Beach Friday morning.

Santa Cruz County’s first inclusive park opens

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...