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SANTA CRUZ—A man hoping a new set of California laws would ease his lengthy prison sentence will have to wait a while longer while his case is appealed. Vincent Marquez, now 65, was in court on Aug. 26 for his resentencing hearing. He is one...

Every year, as the fleeting summer days pass, staff and volunteers at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds prepare for the coming fair, which is at once a community celebration of the region’s agricultural bounty and an embrace of autumn. The first step in the Herculean...

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Supervisor candidate Jimmy Dutra told a group of reporters and roughly two-dozen supporters that allegations of sexual abuse made against him last week are “completely false and untrue,” and stem from a dispute with his late father’s ex-wife over his estate. Dutra...

Members of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation presented a plan Monday that aims to strengthen the way the state regulates agricultural pesticides. The seven-page Draft Strategic Plan 2024-28 was presented in Watsonville to a crowd of about 50 people at the Ramsay Park Family...

Emergency officials deal with a solo-vehicle crash Friday on Carlton Road, east of Watsonville. The California Highway Patrol said the male driver of the Toyota Tundra was not injured when he lost control while traveling south on Carlton Road at Coward Road at about...

Thousands of people lined Main Street in downtown Watsonville to take in the Spirit of Watsonville Fourth of July parade Tuesday.  Under warm and sunny skies, 69 entries in the parade filed along the closed-off street offering live music, cheerleaders, dazzling hydraulic lifted cars, classic...

On both sides of Watsonville Municipal Airport’s two runways lay so-called airport safety zones, where development is either limited or restricted. With limited space left for the city to develop—and with mandates for new housing from the State of California—those safety zones will be at...

PAJARO—A secondary breach of the Pajaro River near the Pacific Ocean Monday has helped relieve pressure from the levee and lower floodwaters in Pajaro. Crews are working 24/7 to make emergency repairs to the primary breach of the levee near Murphy Crossing Road that has...

The Watsonville City Council on Jan. 16 declined to place a resolution on the Feb. 13 meeting agenda to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict. The motion by Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter failed 6-1, capping off a meeting that began when she called for...

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...