Watsonville is accepting applications for its next youth poet laureate. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/10/06/w...

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Becky Olvera Schultz has Indigenous art displayed at the Aptos Branch Library through the end of the year. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/10/05/b...

Monarch Services hosted a ribbon cutting Wednesday for the first transitional home for domestic violence survivors in Santa Cruz County. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/10/02/m...

The Pajaro Valley school board approved the two-year Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling program to train elementary teachers in literacy instruction. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/10/02/p...

After 20 years without a theater of any kind, Pajaro Valley High School dedicated a new black box theater to hold drama productions and band performances until a permanent theater is built in 2 years. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/10/02/p...

This week in the Santa Cruz area: Los Straitjackets, Jake Shimabukuro, A Taste of Ireland and the Santa Cruz Symphony's performance of “Scheherazade.” www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/10/01/c...

San Lorenzo Valley High School's student-directed play is "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood" which opens Friday. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/10/01/s...

A new UC Berkeley study found Santa Cruz County had the fourth highest proportion of births in areas near fields that use organophosphate pesticides. (Monterey County had the highest.) www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/30/s...

The Pajaro Valley school board will consider a new program to more effectively train elementary school teachers to teach literacy. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/29/p...

The Cement Ship at Seacliff State Beach is now the subject of a novel by Mark Marinovich titled "Seacliff Park." www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/28/n...

This week in the Santa Cruz area: The Lone Bellow, Big Mountain, Trestles and the comedy of Rene Vaca. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/24/c...

The Santa Cruz Film Festival is returning after a three-year hiatus with nearly 100 films lined up over five days. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/24/s...

The Watsonville City Council approved the city's first Homelessness Strategic Plan. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/24/w...

The Capitola Beach Festival returns this weekend with a new drone show and updated paddleboard race. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/23/d...

Tonight, the Watsonville City Council will vote on the city's Homelessness Action Plan in a session that starts at 4:30. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/22/w...

This year's Santa Cruz Comedy Festival will be a smaller-scale, two-night edition called Laughtopus. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/21/s...

After receiving additional cure and correct letters alleging further Brown Act violations, the Pajaro Valley school board took action in a special meeting Wednesday. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/18/p...

Santa Cruz County hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the recent repaving of Murphy Crossing Road, a major thoroughfare between Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/18/s...

Fright Flicks will return to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Wednesdays in October with a lineup consisting of "Us," "Scream," "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Halloween (2018)." www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/15/s...

Pregnant Mare Rescue, a horse rescue sanctuary in Corralitos, is at risk of closing after financial issues in recent years and has launched a GoFundMe campaign to keep its gates open. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/12/p...

This week in the Santa Cruz area: Paul Cornish, Edwin McCain, Black Uhuru and Erin Entrada Kelly. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/10/c...

The Watsonville City Council voted 5-2 to approve a two-year contract with Flock Safety for more automated license plate readers. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/10/d...

Music, rides and exhibitions are back at the fairgrounds as the Santa Cruz County Fair opened Wednesday. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/10/c...

Members of Santa Cruz County's inaugural Youth Poet Laureate program cohort published an anthology with local teens sharing their views on issues. They will host a launch party at the MAH Sunday. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/09/s...

Despite vocal opposition, the Watsonville City Council voted 5-2 for a 2-year contract to increase Flock license plate readers in the city to 37. Mayor Maria Orozco and Councilmember Vanessa Quiroz-Carter were the lone votes against.

Five days of thrill rides, deep-fried foods, unique collections and lots of animals and entertainment are set to commence Wednesday for the opening of the Santa Cruz County Fair. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/08/2...

What should you expect when inheriting a family member's art? Michelle Grapa has founded a platform called Lignia.art to make that process easier and will be hosting two workshops this month. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/05/s...

This week in the Santa Cruz area: Fantastic Negrito, Young the Giant and Sunny Day Real Estate. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/03/c...

Lauren Corzine will be returning to the Santa Cruz County Fair next week with her Taylor Swift tribute band Red. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/03/l...

A group of local activists, led by Omar Dieguez, announced their plans to fast for up to 30 days to protest the continuing use of pesticides near schools in the Pajaro Valley. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/03/w...

A portion of Main Street in Watsonville between 5th Street and East Lake Avenue will undergo intermittent closures over the next month to accommodate construction. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/01/w...

The Monterey Bay Central Labor Council hosted its annual Labor Day picnic in Watsonville but also added a rally and march to support the labor movement and call out the federal government. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/09/01/m...

10 years since my first byline (my first paid professional byline anyway).

Santa Cruz County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate changes along Green Valley Road. I meant to post this yesterday morning, but my power was out. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/28/w...

This week in the Santa Cruz area: The Roots, Afroman, Twin Shadow and a Scottish fiddle and dance extravaganza from Valley of the Moon. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/21/c...

The Watsonville City Council unanimously approved the city's first Public Art Master Plan. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/27/w...

The Watsonville City Council will vote on a Public Art Master Plan tonight. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/24/w...

The Pajaro Valley Health Care District will be switching to zone-based elections and is seeking the public's input in drawing maps. The first public hearing is Wednesday. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/25/p...

Homeless encampment sweeps along the Pajaro River got underway Monday. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/25/p...

Salsa y Salsa brings both kinds of salsa (the hot sauce blend and genre of music and dance) to Watsonville for a two-day extravaganza with a salsa-making contest and music by Candela. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/23/s...

Concerns were expressed at Wednesday's Pajaro Valley school board meeting over vacant counselor positions that had gone unfilled at the start of the 2025-26 year. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/21/f...

“The Paper” looks fine, I guess, but “Parks and Recreation” should have been the show to get a local newsroom spinoff, especially since the show had an established newspaper we saw quite often.

This week in the Santa Cruz area: The Darts, Coastal Highwaymen, Bookstore Romance Day and a workshop hosted by graduates of Soledad Prison's jazz program. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/14/c...

Santa Cruz Symphony has announced its 2025-26 season which will include performances of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" and Gustav Holst's "The Planets" and a collaboration with Santa Cruz Shakespeare on a production of "Amadeus." www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/19/s...

The Pajaro Valley school board will consider an MOU with Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 119 to allow for students in Pajaro Valley High's aviation pathway to take part in lab activities at the Watsonville Municipal Airport. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/18/p...

The Santa Cruz County Film Commission is accepting applications for filming listings. This went from being a press release rewrite to a quick summary on the history of films shot throughout Santa Cruz County. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/14/s...

The Santa Cruz County chapter of the American Association of University Women is hosting a women's leadership panel Sept. 6 featuring a lineup of leaders of different disciplines. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/10/s...

This week in the Santa Cruz area: Damian and Stephen Marley, Strange Days, Lewis Black and a Christian Youth Theater alumni show. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/07/c...

Landmark Elementary School has plenty of new things this year: new programs, new projects and, of course, new faces. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/13/w...

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the grand opening of Sparrow Terrace, a new 72-unit apartment complex in Watsonville with nearly half of the units reserved for farmworker families. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/08/11/w...