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Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Watsonville Community Hospital CEO Stephen Gray to step down from position in July

By Tania Ortiz

Watsonville Community Hospital CEO Stephen Gray will be stepping down from his role in early July, according to hospital leadership. The search for an interim replacement is currently underway.

Credit: Natasha Leverett / Lookout Santa Cruz

As Martinelli’s cancels contracts, Watsonville apple farmers lose their biggest buyer – and a way of life

By Lily Belli

For decades, Pajaro Valley apple farmers relied on S. Martinelli & Co. as their primary — and often only — buyer, but the company’s decision to stop renewing some grower contracts has left longtime orchardists scrambling for alternatives and questioning the future of local apple farming.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Carmageddon: Second full Murray Street Bridge closure in sight, could begin as early as June 10

By Max Chun

The second full closure of the Murray Street Bridge could begin as early as June 10, the City of Santa Cruz announced on Friday. However, this one is scheduled to last only a couple of months. The project is still on track for a January 2028 completion.

Credit: Cat Cutillo / Lookout Santa Cruz

Pajaro Valley High’s ‘spirit of the school’ graduates after four years of leadership

By Hillary Ojeda

Pajaro Valley High School senior Jonathan Escobar, once a shy student who faced bullying in middle school, will graduate this week after four years as a prominent campus leader, cheerleader and class president. This fall, he’s going to UC Davis to study biology or political science.

Credit: ©Warner Home Video

‘The Lost Boys’: How Santa Cruz became Santa Carla

By Jana Marcus

Forty years after “The Lost Boys” transformed Santa Cruz into the fictional vampire haven of Santa Carla, the cult classic still pulses through the town’s identity. Part 1 of a three-part series explores the film’s enduring lure, outsider mythology and the strange cultural magic of 1980s Santa Cruz.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

OPINION: What will Watsonville Community Hospital’s next chapter be?

By John Laird

State Sen. John Laird warns that Watsonville Community Hospital is once again facing a financial crisis, with fewer than 10 days of cash on hand. Recently passed emergency legislation will provide $10.6 million in short-term relief to help the hospital stay afloat through July 1, he writes, but it is not a permanent solution. Laird argues that federal funding cuts have reversed years of financial progress and left community hospitals like Watsonville especially vulnerable. The hospital continues to seek a long-term partner to survive.

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Best of Santa Cruz County events, June 1-4

Here are some events you may be interested in this week:

Monday, Jun. 1

Tuesday, Jun. 2

Wednesday, Jun. 3

Thursday, Jun. 4

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Max Chun is the general-assignment correspondent at Lookout Santa Cruz. Max’s position has pulled him in many different directions, seeing him cover development, COVID, the opioid crisis, labor, courts...