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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...

MOSS LANDING — A long line of hungry customers stretched out the door of Phil’s Fish Market and Eatery in Moss Landing Monday, the last day of the popular restaurant. For 22 years the business has seen a steady flow of customers, many repeats, at...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man was shot and killed Sunday afternoon in downtown Watsonville. Watsonville Police Sgt. Jarrod Pisturino  said the shooting took place around 11:16am between the 100 block of Brennan Street and the 100 block of Sudden Street in a large parking lot shared by...

APTOS—A man was arrested Thursday in the Safeway parking lot in Aptos after he allegedly provided illegal drugs to a minor. When Special Enforcement Detectives with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office contacted Benjamin Reynolds, he was in possession of numerous baggies of cocaine, marijuana,...

WATSONVILLE—In the coming weeks, students at Watsonville High School—along with school administrators, teachers and parents—will join forces to hammer out a new dress code, a set of policies all parties hope will promote campus safety and encourage a modicum of decorum while still allowing...

WATSONVILLE—Thursday marked the end of an era—and the beginning of a new one—as Watsonville Community Hospital officially became a public entity, to be controlled by a local board of elected representatives. The purchase followed a months-long fundraising campaign—the largest in Santa Cruz County history—that netted...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) recently announced the 2022 recipient of the organization’s annual Student Scholarship.  Santiago Meza, who graduated from Harbor High School in Santa Cruz this year, is planning to study film at Santa Monica City College. WFF officials said they were impressed...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Aug. 24 approved a series of bonuses and supplemental payments aimed at retaining teachers and school employees. Every teacher, school worker and administrator employed since April 1—and who plans to stay with the district through...

WATSONVILLE—Around 70 people gathered at Jalisco Restaurant on Wednesday to kick off the campaign for the proposed half-cent sales tax measure that will go before voters in the Nov. 8 midterm election. Measure R—placed on the ballot by Watsonville City Council in June—would raise the...

WATSONVILLE—Three students from Watsonville recently took part in a weeklong summer program in Sacramento that teaches young people to be part of their local and state governments. The program—called Boys State—is sponsored by the American Legion. The event includes such activities as mock legislative sessions...