COVID-19

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced March 17 a collaboration with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo and others to deliver nearly a million meals per week to students in a limited number of rural schools closed due...

Johanna Miller A lot has happened since I last wrote for About Town. The global COVID-19 crisis is unlike anything most of us have experienced. While I’m grateful that my friends and family are safe and healthy, I cannot help but worry every day.  My job...

Santa Cruz County officials are urging the public to avoid crowding the county’s beaches in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. With shelter-in-place orders in place throughout California, non-essential workers are staying home, schools and universities are switching to online classes and some...

MONTEREY COUNTY—Monterey County health officials on Saturday announced the first death of a county resident that had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Officials said the victim was an “adult individual” who had an “underlying health condition” that made them more susceptible to the highly-contagious virus that...

Just 13 days ago Santa Cruz County officials announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 within our tight-knit community. Since that fateful Saturday morning press conference, the Pajaronian news team has not had much time to take a moment to reflect and truly process...

Community foundations in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties are responding to the COVID-19 crisis by creating a fund that will financially aid residents most impacted by the coronavirus. The funds will be made available to nonprofit agencies and will be used to address the immediate...

WATSONVILLE—A man that tested positive for COVID-19 died Friday at Watsonville Community Hospital, Halsen Healthcare CEO Dan Brothman confirmed on Saturday morning. Brothman did not release any information about the victim.   Two sources, however, said the victim was not from Santa Cruz County. They were speaking...

GILROY—This year’s Gilroy Garlic Festival has been canceled, festival organizers announced late Friday afternoon. The announcement came as governmental jurisdictions, businesses, educators and residents throughout California are severely restricting their activities in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In a brief email, organizers said the 40-year-old festival...

WATSONVILLE—“Hello?” “Yes, are you there?” “Can you hear us?” “Please, unmute your mic.” Those tech-trouble-induced phrases dominated Watsonville City Council’s Friday morning emergency meeting concerning a proposed eviction moratorium for tenants affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The pleas of roughly a half-dozen property managers and landlords that scrambled to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Catherine Barr, Executive Director of Monterey Bay Certified Farmers Markets, was in good spirits Tuesday. She had just received news that the Cabrillo Farmers Market in Aptos would remain open during the countywide shelter-in-place order due to COVID-19. “I am over the moon...