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A little more than two years after the former Kmart store on Freedom Boulevard closed its doors, the space will soon have a new tenant.  Vallarta Supermarket, which has more than 50 locations throughout California—the most recent one in Salinas—will occupy half of the 100,000-square-foot...

Two Watsonville men serving long prison terms are hoping that a series of new state laws will bring freedom sooner than originally expected. Vincent Marquez, who is serving a decades-long prison sentence for a 2008 burglary conviction, could see his sentence reduced this year due...

Starting Monday, construction work on the College Lake Pipeline Project in Watsonville will move onto Riverside Drive for the next six months. With around five miles of the pipeline now completed, and a mile left to go, the project will provide a 30-inch water main...

Every year, California’s legislators send a flurry of bills to the governor in hopes he or she will sign them. And that’s before the byzantine legislative process that leaves most proposed laws on Assembly and Senate cutting floors. In 2023, the lawmakers sent off 1,046...

Plans are underway to install four larger-than-life sculptures in downtown Watsonville as part of an overall redesign of Watsonville Plaza.  While the historical gazebo/bandstand, designed by famed architect William Weeks, will still maintain its spot in the plaza center, ideas are being discussed to retrofit...

Watsonville Police are looking for the person who reportedly shot a dog on the Pajaro River levee near the Main Street Bridge Dec. 27. Officers responded to a call of shots fired shortly before 12:30am and found a dog suffering from a gunshot injury, Watsonville...

A man was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of killing his girlfriend, Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann of Capitola. Theobald "Theo" Lengyel, 54, was found near Davenport in the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's jurisdiction after an arrest warrant was issued. He was taken into custody by...

Bird enthusiasts got a dramatic treat at the year’s end when an extremely rare black-headed gull dropped by Rio Del Mar State Beach.  While common in Asian countries and along the Eastern U.S. coast, the gull, largely white, with red legs, red bill and a...

A military-grade ordnance is shown on the beach at Pajaro Dunes in Watsonville. The device washed ashore during recent heavy seas on New Year’s Eve, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said. As a precaution, the Sheriff's bomb team responded, deemed it safe, and...