News

Final touches are underway at the Olive Garden Italian Kitchen restaurant, the first such location for the chain business in Santa Cruz County. General Manager Lisa Chiorello said the company, with more than 800 restaurants, is aiming to open Dec. 17.

A house was fully engulfed in flames at 1250 Valencia School Road in Aptos Sunday evening. The blaze, which was first reported at around 6:45 p.m., ended up burning the structure flat to the ground. No injuries were reported. The family of five that lived at the home were reportedly not in the area at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire in still under investigation.

Registration is now open for the third annual Capitola Plein Air juried competition, exhibition and sale.

Entries are sought for the 41st Annual Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau Apple Pie Baking Contest during opening day of the Santa Cruz County Fair, Sept. 13. The entry deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 5, postmarked no later than 11:59 p.m. This contest is sponsored by the Pajaro Valley apple growers, shippers and related industries as well as pie lovers throughout Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley. It has been organized by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau since 1977. 

In 1990, Catherine Webb and Carolyn O’Donnell started a dental-only nonprofit, which incorporated two years later as Dientes Community Dental Care.

A string of new businesses will soon punctuate the ongoing expansion and opening of the Aptos Village and the nearby Rancho Del Mar Center. On the southernmost shoulder of the Aptos Village a new branch of the popular Betty Burgers could be open by the second...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees in an emergency meeting Saturday unanimously approved a plan to close all district schools for two weeks, and allow most employees to work from home.  Essential staff will provide services such as food, custodial and technology,...

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...

Santa Cruz artist Shirley Lehner-Rhoades is currently showing 13 of her paintings on the first floor of the Santa Cruz County Building. As part of the ongoing exhibits put on by the Arts Council Santa Cruz County, the works will be on display through March 16. For information, call 566-5741 or visit www.lehner-rhoades.com or www.scottsvalleyartcenter.com.

SANTA CRUZ—Second Harvest Food Bank hosted a drive-thru community food distribution Friday at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Supported by numerous volunteers and members of the California National Guard, the distribution unfolded under overcast skies as part of ongoing county-wide distributions that alternate between the...