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Local filmmakers are invited to participate in the two free remaining workshops presented by the Watsonville Film Festival to encourage regional filmmaking.  The new “Cine Se Puede Summer Series” supports BIPOC filmmakers with pre-production and production resources for their projects. Participants will learn about how...

WATSONVILLE—Around 240 people attended an art reception and walk Sunday in downtown Watsonville to view the works of San Francisco artist Juan R. Fuentes.  The tour stemmed off a reception at PV Arts in the Porter Building, where the current exhibit features more than 50...

By TARA FATEMI WALKER SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) and its network of more than 70 partner agencies, including nonprofits such as food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, work hard to combat food insecurity.  But because of new requirements mandated by Senate Bill 1383,...

Students in the local dance class, Estrellas de Esperanza, taught by Ruby Vasquez, hosted an information session for the public Wednesday evening to learn about a Mexican holiday tradition called La Rama.  Maestro Claudio Naranjos Vega traveled from Vera Cruz, Mexico, to run the class...

About 150 people plunged into the Pacific Saturday at Cowell’s Beach for the third annual Liberation Paddle Out celebration of Juneteenth. With the aid of around two dozen experienced surfers and other supporters, the crowd fitted themselves with wetsuits, took in a brief surf lesson...

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...

Riverside Drive was closed to traffic and two homes were evacuated Wednesday afternoon between Union  Street and Marchant Street after construction crews ruptured a natural gas line. Watsonville Fire officials said the pipeline break was reported at 2:29pm in a section of the road that...

Artists invited to apply for Open Studios tour Arts Council Santa Cruz County is inviting visual artists of all mediums to apply for the 2023 Open Studios Art Tour.  Every year more than 300 artists participate in this self-guided tour that runs over the first three...

The County of Monterey Department of Emergency Management has begun testing a new Alert Monterey County emergency alert software and system, and Watsonville residents may receive notifications, officials advised.  Residents in certain areas of Monterey County began receiving emergency test messages earlier this week. More...

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...