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June 10 marked the 17th annual release of Bargetto Winery’s “La Vita” wine. The oldest winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains and one of the oldest in the state, Bargetto Winery is celebrating its 85 anniversary this year with a number of events. “Honestly, I think it was the best ‘La Vita’ event we’ve ever had,” said Director of Winemaking John Bargetto. “At least, it was my favorite. The place was packed — and I think the wine turned out exceptional this year, so of course that made it even better.”

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.

These boys examine the damage where a Watsonville woman rammed into a room at the Rio Sands Hotel, 130 Aptos Beach Drive, in Rio del Mar Monday. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the woman claimed the brakes failed in her Honda Accord as she pulled into a parking space at the hotel around 11:20 a.m. No injuries were reported. The driver reportedly did not have a license.

SOQUEL — A Soquel woman was arrested Monday after she allegedly tried to kick out the windows of a patrol car after she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, California Highway Patrol officer Trista Drake said. Rochelle Lynette Sherman, 49, was charged with DUI and battery on an emergency official. She was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail. According to Drake, police stopped Sherman’s vehicle in the parking lot of the Home Depot on the 2600 block of Soquel Avenue at about 9 p.m.

APTOS — Last year, the Aptos High School robotics team took top honors in both state and international competitions for building a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that performed a series of complex underwater tasks. In doing so, the team bested competitors from around the globe. The group of 12, who are aged 15-17, is called Watsonville Firefighters Seal Team 1272 after the group that sponsored them. “The competition was an amazing experience and a great place to observe and learn from the machines other people built,” team programmer Pratham Rathi said. ROVs are human controlled robots that are employed to solve a variety of jobs in places where humans cannot reach. The ROV Jason, for example, was used to observe the wreckage of the sunken Titanic. The team’s ROV is Argo V, a nod to the ship of Greek myth in which Jason and his compatriots sailed to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Now, having again won the Marine Advanced Technology Education center annual ROV competition at Watsonville High School on May 12, the team is once again preparing to defend its international crown. That competition — held this year in Seattle, Wash. from June 22-25 — draws elite young engineers from around the globe who pit their homebuilt, underwater robots against each other.

SOQUEL — The Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay will present guitarist and singer/songwriter John Doyle on June 5 at 7:30 p.m. at a house concert in Soquel. The Irish musician has long been known for his guitar and bouzouki work, from his early days with Irish supergroup Solas, to his duo work with fiddler Liz Carroll, to his work with Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O'Leary as the Alt, to his collaboration with Scottish fiddler John Mckusker and piper Mike McGoldrick.

During the winter of 2006-2007, beekeepers across the country began noticing a steep decline in bee populations. It was Colony Collapse Disorder: a phenomenon in which a large percentage of a hive’s worker bees disappear, leaving behind their queen and a handful of bees to care for everything. Often, the hive will eventually perish. Emily Bondor of Santa Cruz Bee Company thinks that the collapse which occurred a little over a decade ago is what kickstarted a sort of “beekeeping renaissance” in North America. People began noticing the inactivity and decline of honeybees and were inspired to take action.

The County of Santa Cruz has filed a complaint against several pharmaceutical corporations, alleging that they are complicit in fueling the national opioid crisis. The 140-page complaint accuses opioid manufacturing companies of racketeering, negligence, fraud, false advertising and creating a public nuisance. According to the complaint, drug manufacturers downplayed the risks of prescription opioids in order to increase sales.

A utility truck is buried beneath power lines and a shattered utility pole after the driver lost control and plowed into the pole Monday May 14 on Mar Monte Avenue. Around 3:30 p.m. the driver was traveling west on Mar Monte Avenue when his vehicle shot off the road just west of Roback Drive. The California Highway Patrol shut down Mar Monte Avenue in the area. A Pacific Gas and Electric crew was summoned. The CHP said Mar Monte Avenue would remain closed well into the night to allow for repairs. The CHP is still investigating the cause of the crash.

The Aptos High Theater Department is presenting Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” opening Friday. The school is putting its own spin on the classic tale by re-imagining it in the 1980s. In this production directed by teacher Stacy Aronovici and senior Quinn Youngs, the audience will experience the lives of the young housemaid, Cinderella (Ella), played by senior Kaylee Leal, and Prince Christopher (Topher), played by senior Ryan Yeaman. Ella lives with her stepmother, Madame (senior Desiree Hardin), and her two daughters Gabrielle (senior Sara Pedro) and Charlotte (junior Grace Romeu).