COVID-19

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will become the first amusement park in California to reopen after Covid-19 restrictions shuttered them statewide earlier this year, Boardwalk spokesman Kris Reyes said. Rides such as the famous Giant Dipper, which have sat dormant for months, will once...

Welcome to the first issue of our new weekly newsletter covering California’s experience with COVID-19, the novel strand of coronavirus currently sweeping the globe. This is a special edition of the newsletter; all subsequent issues will be sent on Tuesday mornings.To help you manage...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County has moved to the “Widespread,” or Purple, tier of state’s Covid-19 reopening plan, which carries with it the most serious restrictions on businesses and services, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a lunchtime press conference Monday. The increased restrictions mean that...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz Warriors’ season ended more than seven months ago—it was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic—but the NBA G League franchise has found different ways to score points in the Santa Cruz County. Team mascot Mav’Riks on Oct. 12 dropped off a...

APTOS—Pajaro Valley Unified School District announced Wednesday it is closing Rio Del Mar Elementary School for two days after a person there tested positive for coronavirus. District officials are not saying what the person’s relationship to the school is. They were last at the school...

A mass vaccination site with the capacity to administer 1,000 injections per day will open at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville next week, but it is unlikely that it will reach its capacity anytime soon because of a continuing shortage of Covid-19...

WATSONVILLE—If everything goes right, Independence Day will feature the first citywide in-person celebration in Watsonville since the start of the pandemic. That’s according to Watsonville Parks and Community Service Department Director Nick Calubaquib, who says that the city is planning to hold a “static” parade...

WATSONVILLE—Many students unable to return to class when school starts on Aug. 14 due to Covid-19 restrictions will attend a virtual academy, an all-online option created by Pajaro Valley Unified School District as it plans for the coming academic year. The PVUSD Board of Trustees...

WATSONVILLE—Gerald Hunter, the former director of Watsonville Post Acute Center, announced on Oct. 19 that he has stepped down from the position. On the facility’s website, Hunter stated that Rae Ann Radford has taken the job. The announcement did not give a reason for the...

By Emanuel Lee, Hollister Free Lance Sports Editor Calling it the “document we’ve been waiting for,” Central Coast Section Commissioner Dave Grissom said the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) recent release in regards to youth sports gives him and the other 10 section commissioners...