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WATSONVILLE—Police have arrested a man suspected of starting a fire in St. Patrick’s Catholic Parish that caused $100,000 in damage. Alberto Melgoza, 36, is also suspected of setting a fire at Ave Maria Memorial Chapel in June, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. Melgoza was arrested...

Two of the four people who have so far signaled their intentions to replace outgoing Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend for the District 2 seat are veteran policymakers with years of experience in the public sector. Kim De Serpa, who has served on the...

The Watsonville Elks Car and Truck Show will take place Saturday from 10am to 3pm at 121 Martinelli St. The show will feature music by DJ Marshall Jaurigi and tri-tip sandwiches. Judging will take place at 2pm. All money raised will go to the...

WATSONVILLE—A $6 million loan from the State of California will allow Watsonville to build a new landfill, a move that will save money and give the City a place to haul its waste for as long as three decades. The loan from the California Infrastructure...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville man who was shot and killed Sunday afternoon in downtown was working to turn his life around, his mother said. On Wednesday, at a large makeshift altar at the site of where her son died, Roxanne Ortiz said Adrian Ayala, 19, was one...

A crew from American Pavement Systems applies a slurry seal to the pedestrian/bike trail on the Salsipuedes Creek levee. Rusty Barker, civil engineer of Santa Cruz County Public Works, said the work started Monday and wrapped up Wednesday and included a new slurry seal...

The suspected shooter accused of killing a 23-year-old man Aug. 4 turned himself in Wednesday. Officers took the 17-year-old suspect into custody at Watsonville Police Department at 9pm, police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said.  On Aug. 4, officers responded to the 800 block of McKenzie Avenue, near...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a new ordinance aimed at protecting tenants being harassed by their landlords or property owners when they speak out about bad conditions in their living spaces. The item was heard for first and second...

Floodwaters from the Pajaro River levee break reached northbound Highway 1 Sunday morning, forcing officials to shut down the highway at 9am. The northbound lanes of the highway are shut down from Salinas Road to Highway 129. As of 10:30am, the California Highway Patrol was preparing...

A man described by police as a person of interest in a shooting that left nine people hurt in San Francisco June 9 was arrested in Santa Cruz Wednesday evening following a high-speed chase that started in Watsonville. Javier Campos, 22, was taken into custody...