• by Fern Siegel , October 8, 2020

What began as a 1975 free counterculture entertainment newspaper in Santa Cruz County has morphed into a serious community weekly publishing company.

In 2019, Good Times won first prize for general excellence from the California Newspaper Publishers, while its sister publication, North Bay Bohemian, won first place for investigative reporting.

Their owner, Metro Newspapers, now known as Weeklys, invests in numerous independent community newspapers, both local and regional. Its latest acquisition — the 60-year-old Press Banner, was bought from Tank Town Media, which reports on Boulder Creek and the San Lorenzo Valley, California.

“With the addition of the Press Banner, we can offer advertisers unrivaled reach in Santa Cruz County and provide readers with coverage from all corners of the county,” said publisher Dan Pulcrano.

Weeklys purchased the East Bay Express and the Salinas Valley Tribune earlier this year. It also publishes Metro Silicon Valley, Morgan Hill Times and Gilroy Dispatch in Santa Clara County, as well as weeklies in Monterey, San Benito, Alameda, Marin and Sonoma counties.

Plus, it owns the 152-year-old Watsonville Register-Pajaronian of Watsonville, California, returning it to local control after 78 years of ownership. 

Tank Town Media bought the Press Banner in 2012.

Metro weekly was one of the first newspapers to publish Matt Groening’s “Life in Hell.” Groening also created the TV shows “The Simpsons” and “Futurama.”