El Sistema Santa Cruz a finalist for national award
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—El Sistema Santa Cruz/Pajaro Valley, a nonprofit aiming to bring music education and performance to students, has been selected as a finalist for a prestigious national award.
The Lewis Prize for Music announced 10 finalists for its fourth annual Accelerator Awards last week....
Holiday Lights returns to Fairgrounds Nov. 25
WATSONVILLE—Work is underway at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in preparation for the annual Holiday Lights drive-thru light show.
Born out of the 2020 Covid lockdowns as a way for the community to celebrate the season safely, the event invites families to drive though colorful...
Cabrillo College trustees approve name change
APTOS—Cabrillo College’s governing board voted Monday to change the institution’s name after a two-hour discussion that included comments from dozens of community members.
The trustees voted 6-1 in favor of renaming the college, with trustee Rachel Spencer dissenting.
The decision followed the Nov. 10 release of...
Food bank eyes 5 million meals for those in need
APTOS—Second Harvest Food Bank well surpassed its goal of 4.5 million meals during its 2021 holiday drive. But when it came time to organize the 2022 effort, organizers floated the idea of lowering the goal, given the rising costs of groceries due to inflation,...
PVUSD: Updated results show Flores still ahead of Schacher
WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Jennifer Schacher, who has held the Trustee Area 5 seat since she was elected in 2018, has closed the gap between herself and opponent Olivia Flores since early returns began to come in Tuesday night.
Flores is ahead by...
Hernandez extends lead on Dutra in race for 4th District
WATSONVILLE—Felipe Hernandez has increased his lead on Jimmy Dutra in the race for the 4th District seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, according to updated results released by the County Elections Department on Friday evening.
Hernandez, the former mayor of Watsonville, now...
Duty, Honor, Country: Watsonville celebrates its veterans
WATSONVILLE—With police vehicles leading the way—their emergency lights flashing bright in the late-morning sun—a squad of Boy Scouts, U.S. Naval Sea Cadets and military veterans marched down East Lake Avenue Friday to kick off Watsonville’s annual Veterans Day ceremony.
The parade ended at the Henry...
Watsonville native leads San Jose mayoral race
Watsonville-raised Matt Mahan is favored to become the next mayor of America’s 10th largest city.
The San Jose city councilman’s lead over Santa Clara County supervisor Cindy Chavez grew slightly Wednesday, to 4,766 votes, as ballot counting at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters...
Parker, Bilicich deadlocked for Watsonville City Council seat
WATSONVILLE—The race for the District 7 seat on the Watsonville City Council has been the tightest contest in all of Santa Cruz County this general election.
Current District 7 representative Ari Parker and former Watsonville mayor Nancy Bilicich are separated by a mere 10 votes,...
Watsonville’s Measure R overwhelmingly supported in early results
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s half-cent sales tax increase had formidable support from voters in initial results released by the Santa Cruz County Elections Department.
As of Wednesday morning, Measure R had amassed 64.67% of the 3,151 votes tallied. The general tax measure only needs a simple majority for...
Truck plunges into creek in Watsonville
END OVER END Tow operators from Chaz Towing work on a plan to haul a GMC Sierra pickup out of Corralitos Creek on...