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Santa Cruz government centers set aglow with rainbow colors in celebration of Pride month

The Santa Cruz County Government Center, Santa Cruz City Hall and Town Clock will be illuminated in rainbow colors every evening for the next month in celebration of Pride month and the local LGBTQ+ community.

Patrice Moore and Alice Corscadden share a tender moment on Tuesday as Pride Week gets under way with IllumiNight at the County Government Center. A musical Rainbow Procession to the Santa Cruz Town Clock followed the illumination of the County Building in the rainbow Pride colors. Shortly after sunset, the Town Clock and four other iconic city buildings were bathed in a rainbow of light to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Santa Cruz Pride. (Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel)

The Santa Cruz County Government Center glows with a prismatic rainbow Tuesday night as the local Pride Week kicked off with Pride IllumiNight. (Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Photos | Iconic buildings in Santa Cruz glow with rainbow colors for Pride

A paper sign reading "Give Trees a Chance" is taped on the placard advertising the mixed-use structure that will one day encom the parking lot known as Lot 4 at the last downtown Santa Cruz Farmers Market before the market moves to its new semi-permanent home next Wednesday. (Aric Sleeper - Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz community bids farewell to longtime downtown farmers market location

Kentucky Mule (Photo courtesy Erin Malsbury)

Santa Cruz band Kentucky Mule to bring cathartic country to The Crepe Place

Watsonville High starting pitcher Amelia Martinez delivers against Woodside during the CCS Division IV semifinals in Los Gatos on Wednesday. (Raul Ebio - Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Watsonville edged by Woodside 2-1 in Division IV semifinals | CCS softball

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Sports

Ben Gerding of Santa Cruz Longboard Union competes in the men's 30-39 division at the 2025 Santa Cruz Longboard Union Memorial Day Club Invitational at Steamer Lane on Sunday morning. (M Scott Gould - Special to the Sentinel)

UCSC’s Eric Anderson takes sixth in 1,500 at NCAA D-III Track and Field Championships | Local Roundup

UC Santa Cruz had four student-athletes -- senior Eric Anderson, junior Graeme Maclean, and sophomores Evan Hofstetter and Kenzie Seymour -- compete in the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which were held at the SPIRE Institute...

Local News

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). This perennial is native from the central to southeastern United States. It typically grows to 2-4 feet tall. The showy flowers, 5 inches wide, bloom during summer on stiff stems with coarse, dark green leaves. In the fall, goldfinches and other birds visit the blackened seed cones. The genus name comes from the Greek word for hedgehog or sea-urchin, referring to the blossom’s spiny center cone. (Burkhard Mucke via Wikimedia Commons)

Tom Karwin, On Gardening | The ‘Chelsea Chop’ and seasonal pruning

"At this time of the year, from late May to early June, nature offers gardeners the opportunity to enhance a selected category of plants," writes columnist Tom Karwin. "The focus is on widely popular garden plants, specifically herbaceous perennials that...

Lifestyle

The Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf in Santa Cruz, Calif., on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Santa Cruz wharf collapse: Plans take shape for rebuilding as summer beach season begins

The goal is to put the job out to bid in July and start construction in October, finishing by early 2026, said Tony Elliot, Santa Cruz’s city parks director, who is overseeing the project.