News

APTOS—A group of business owners from the new Aptos Village complex gathered for a meeting in early March to discuss possible events and projects they wanted to do together. Their aim was to bring the community into the blooming hub.  But days later those plans...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A group of local transportation organizers is hoping that, within the span of a decade, a passenger rail will run from Watsonville to Santa Cruz, making stops at hubs where busses will whisk passengers to further destinations.  For commuters who wish to eschew...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District will begin the year with distance learning for all students when classes begin on Aug. 17, a measure meant to keep students and staff safe from Covid-19 as the virus continues to spread throughout the state. PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez...

SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered a statewide closure to indoor services in restaurants, theaters, wineries, museums, zoos, card rooms and family entertainment centers. Bars must cease all operations.  In addition, 30 counties on California’s county watchlist must also shutter their churches, gyms, malls, hair...

SAN JOSE—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a San Jose man suspected of a fatal shooting that occurred on June 14. Albaro Amaral, 30, was charged with murder and attempted murder. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Main Jail in lieu of...

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...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz METRO has increased its passenger capacity by 50% in an effort to accommodate more riders, but that decision has raised concerns within the union representing the bus operators still working during the Covid-19 pandemic. METRO CEO Alex Clifford announced on June...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County health officials identified 37 new Covid-19 cases—the county’s largest single-day jump since the virus started its spread—on Monday, increasing the number of new cases over the last eight days to 142. There are 216 active cases in the county, and...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Watsonville firefighters had a “very busy Fourth of July” as they responded to a total of 24 calls in the 24-hour period surrounding the holiday, including medical calls and fires to vegetation, dumpsters and structures. Units were also out patrolling for illegal...

FREEDOM—A Freedom man was arrested Saturday after a bullet he fired during a July 4 celebration ricocheted off the ground and entered a nearby residence, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said. The bullet came within inches of a 10-year-old girl in her Miller...