COVID-19

A single door was propped open, with a long table placed just inside of Santa Cruz Cider Company’s Apple City Tasting Room Monday afternoon.  A sign directed customers to the makeshift pickup window, which the owners have set up during the countywide shelter-in-place order. Natalie Henz,...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Public Health Division announced Thursday that it has awarded $619,900 in health equity grants to 20 organizations to help address disparities among populations impacted by Covid-19. The funds come from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)...

A drive-thru pizza giveaway will be held at 7-Eleven, 1461 Main St., Watsonville, on Christmas Eve at 11am. At least 500 full sized, uncooked pepperoni pizzas will be ordered for the drive-thru, plus another 60 for employees and about 140 for customers at other 7-Elevens.  The...

WATSONVILLE—Graduation for Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s 1,179 seniors this year will look drastically different than it has at any time in its history. That is because the school closures imposed April 1 by state education officials have required students to learn from home for...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—School district superintendents from 11 districts throughout Santa Cruz County will hold a town hall meeting Thursday to talk about bringing younger students back into the classroom. The discussion, led by Dr. Steven McGee of Dignity Health and Dr. Nanette Mickiewicz of Dominican...

After the Loma Prieta Earthquake hit Watsonville in October of 1989, a group of people from St. Patrick’s Church established an emergency feeding program, aiming to support those affected by the disaster. Now, 30 years later, Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes (PVLF) is once again...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel told county leaders Tuesday that she plans to open the parks and beaches that were closed April 8 as part of several sweeping measures meant to slow the spread of coronavirus. Newel also said that...

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...

WATSONVILLE—It took all of 48 hours for Digital NEST to move all of its courses, business and employees to a state-of-the-art online platform.  Other local companies, institutions and businesses were not as prepared to be shoved into the work-from-home, online-only era caused by the Covid-19...

CENTRAL COAST—Monterey and Santa Cruz counties were reporting the highest Covid-19 positivity rates in the Bay Area region Friday, according to data reported by the California Department of Public Health. The positivity rate in Monterey County was 23.2%. In Santa Cruz County it was 18.5%,...