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Aptos
May 23, 2026

METRO makes schedule changes, suspends fares

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—In response to the state’s declaration of a State of Emergency as a result of the threat of COVID-19, and other recent federal, state and county guidance, Santa Cruz (METRO) announced sweeping changes set for Monday. On Thursday Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered California’s...

Girl Scouts clean up Hidden Beach Park

Girl Scout Daisy Troop 15015 recently met at Hidden Beach Park in Aptos to help with a park cleanup. Hidden Beach is primarily used by local neighborhood residents — both as a park and a beachfront area. Discussions were made with county officials about the need for the park to receive some TLC. Nine 6-year-old Daisies responded to the call and were willing to serve. Equipped with vinyl gloves, trash bags and mechanical grabbers, the afternoon started with a talk about being safe. Tips included: using the grabbers to pick up all items, no picking up sharp objects, and always use the gloves.

Watsonville Covid-19 testing site now open to all area residents

Watsonville covid-19 testing
WATSONVILLE—The Covid-19 community testing site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville is now open to all residents of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. First opened to frontline healthcare workers, first responders and employees working in essential services and roles, the site will now test everyone, including...

PVUSD Trustee Misty Navarro announces run to keep seat

Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Misty Navarro was appointed to the board in October 2024, joining at a time when five of the seven members were new to elected office. What followed was a steep learning curve, often marked by volatility, as members worked...

Historic Aptos building faces uncertain future after Sunday night fire

Aptos SeaBreeze fire
RIO DEL MAR—A fire that apparently started in a pile of rubble in an alleyway behind the SeaBreeze Tavern late Sunday night has destroyed the building, bringing to a close a story that began when it was built 92 years ago in what was...

Suspected jewelry store burglar arrested

APTOS — Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a man thought to be responsible for at least one burglary from a business in the area of Aptos and Capitola.

State gives central coast counties ​greenlight to open dine-in restaurants​, barbershops

Covid-19 watsonville
The California Department of Public Health approved Covid-19 County Variance Attestation Forms for both Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, the agencies announced Saturday morning. The acceptance will allow the neighboring counties to advance into Stage 2 of the state's so-called resilience roadmap. Restaurants can now...

Firefighters battling blaze at Monterey Bay Academy near Watsonville

cal fire
LA SELVA BEACH—Firefighters on Saturday night were battling a blaze on the Monterey Bay Academy campus on the outskirts of Watsonville. https://twitter.com/CALFIRECZU/status/1284721308358422530 The fire started around 10:30pm, according to Cal Fire, and was confined to an old movie theater on the private school's campus on 700...

CZU Complex now state’s 9th-most destructive fire ever recorded

CZU August Lightning Complex Fires
SCOTTS VALLEY—The CZU August Lightning Complex has destroyed 1,483 structures as of Tuesday morning, making it the ninth-most destructive fire ever recorded in the state. The majority of those structures are single-family homes in the Santa Cruz mountain towns of Boulder Creek and Bonny Doon,...

Capitola celebrates new Park at Rispin Mansion

In the early 1980s, when her eponymous bakery was in its infancy, Gayle Ortiz learned that a developer planned to turn the land surrounding the Rispin Mansion in Capitola into a senior living complex and several private homes. That plan did not sit well with...