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Live music and folkloric dance performances unfolded in Watsonville Plaza Friday evening thanks to the Watsonville Film Festival and Cabrillo College’s Hispanic Serving Institution Week. Mexican Fiesta was a two-hour free family event that featured Mariachi Juvenil Corazón Jaliscience from Hollister and Laura Rebolloso,...

More than 100 people gathered in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Dec. 15 to watch the swearing-in of its newest judge, Erika Ziegenhorn, who formerly served as a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office. Attendees included prosecutors, defense attorneys, Superior Court judges, county workers...

Just two years ago, Watsonville Community Hospital was saddled with a $30 million debt and was facing bankruptcy and possible closure. But on Wednesday, the Pajaro Valley Health Care District (PVHCD) Board of Directors—the agency that oversees the publicly owned hospital—heard a budget report which,...

Aptos resident Laura Dover-Smith was walking on a trail in Watsonville’s sloughs on her lunch break one sunny Wednesday, an activity she tries to do daily. She says the walk affords her views of wildlife, but also gives her a peaceful respite from the bustling...

Hundreds of women—many attired in wide-brimmed hats festooned with flowers—gathered at Driscoll’s Driscoll’s Rancho Corralitos Thursday afternoon for the annual Down to Earth Women Luncheon. The luncheon is held to raise funds for Agri-Culture’s Focus Agriculture program, as well as the Jimmie Cox Memorial Scholarship...

Fundraiser benefits Monarch Services The Stronger Together Fundraiser for Monarch Services-Servicios Monarca, taking place Oct. 22 at the Aptos High School field, is an event meant to honor survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. The fundraiser begins at 9am with a 1K fun...

A man died at Moran Beach along East Cliff Drive in Live Oak Friday. Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff'’s Office identified the victim as Hans Materne, 45, of Atlanta, Ga.   The Sheriff’s Office said deputies, Harbor Patrol, State Parks, and fire personnel were...

What do you do when you’re a young rodeo rider, your whole family is known for professional rodeo, and a baby bull steps on your face? For Aptos musician Jake Nielsen, that turned out to be a pivotal moment in his musical journey. He was...

The Western Flyer is a 77-foot wooden boat made famous by expeditions of author John Steinbeck and his biologist friend Ed Ricketts. The purse seiner has now found a new home in the Monterey Bay. Built in Tacoma, Wash., in 1937 to fish for sardines in...

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County announced $320,000 in grants issued by the Rise Together Fund for Racial Equity. Over the course of three granting cycles, the foundation has now awarded $1.1 million to the coalition. Founded in 2020, Rise Together is a coalition of Black,...