An Alabama chain of 94 daily newspapers, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., announced Tuesday that it has completed its purchase of the 25,000-circulation Santa Cruz Sentinel and five other papers from Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones & Co. for $287.9 million. Sentinel managers were quoted in their own paper as saying that they didn’t expect any changes or layoffs. The new owner is privately held (unlike Dow Jones) and it is expanding at a time when much of the industry is contracting. One of the unsuccessful bidders for the Sentinel was MediaNews, which has been buying up Bay Area newspapers. [PPC, Aug. 29: Sentinel up for sale] [PPC, Sept. 16: Sentinel attracts 3 bidders]