Santa Cruz County Health Articles

Jacob Sandoval speaks about a state pesticide proposal at a news conference in Watsonville in November. (Ruby Lee Schembari — Santa Cruz Local file)
Hearings on proposed pesticide rules
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation will present details of a …

As local governments try to stretch their budgets to accommodate a new wave of mental health cases, a new program is trying to shift the emergency response from uniformed officers to trained mental health counselors. Since the killing by police …

The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) on Dec. 19 announced a new rule that will provide notice to the public in advance of applications of certain hazardous and drift-prone agricultural pesticides.

California may have more than a million fighting birds, according to the Center for a Humane Economy.

When the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees holds its first meeting in January, they will be faced with the first in what will likely be a long line of difficult decisions as a likely financial crisis looms.

A state-mandated Santa Cruz County court program started this month to connect services to some people with serious mental illnesses. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
SANTA CRUZ >> CARE Courts opened in Santa Cruz County this month, offering …

The County of Santa Cruz has received an $8 million grant from the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) Proposition 47 Grant Program to enhance mental health, substance use disorder and diversion services for individuals involved in the …

About 40 people gathered outside the CineLux Green Valley Cinema in Watsonville Friday to protest new regulations by the Department of Pesticide Regulation regarding 1,3-dichloropropene, also called Telone, a pesticide widely used in California.

Valencia Elementary School was closed Friday after numerous students were sickened by what is likely norovirus. The school will reopen Tuesday.

Watsonville Community Hospital and the Pajaro Valley Health Care District (PVHCD) announced Friday that the building–and the property that surrounds it–once again belongs to the community.

Santa Cruz Community Health Partners with Central Coast Overdose Prevention to Provide 24/7 Access to Naloxone (Narcan) in the San Lorenzo Valley

The No on Z campaign mailed at least nine fliers to Santa Cruz voters as of Oct. 18, sent at least five people door to door and blanketed social media and TV with advertisements. (No on Z campaign)
SANTA CRUZ …

It has been just over two years since the Pajaro Valley Health Care District acquired Watsonville Community Hospital and returned it to public ownership for the first time in decades. But that didn’t happen by accident and in many ways, …

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that will, in a little more than two years, ban the sale of filtered cigarettes in unincorporated areas of the county.

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings has proposed a cigarette filter ban. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local file)
Santa Cruz County Supervisors meeting

Watsonville Community Hospital could soon be owned by the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District. PVHD announced a plan to purchase the building and surrounding property, a major milestone in a years-long endeavor to return the facility to public ownership.

Residents at the UC-owned, 168-unit Hilltop Apartments on Western Drive in Santa Cruz described problems with rats, delayed maintenance and unexplained charges. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)
Key takeaways

Pajaro Valley Healthcare District—the public agency tasked with running Watsonville Community Hospital—announced Wednesday that they plan to purchase the building and surrounding property, a major milestone in a years-long endeavor to return the facility to public ownership.

Workers represented by SEIU Local 2015 and other unions wave their hands in support of speakers at a Santa Cruz County supervisors meeting Aug. 13. Caregivers employed through the county’s In-Home Supportive Services program have demanded higher pay. (Jesse Kathan …

Learn what's getting into Californians’ lungs and why it matters.