Local News

APTOS—Plans are moving forward with the Aptos Branch Library project to raze the existing 8,000-square-foot building near the corner of State Park and Soquel drives, and build a 12,400-square-foot replacement. While the wrecking ball is not expected to swing loose until next summer, strides have...

I noticed a crew from Northwest Signs taking down the long-standing sign on Wendy's on Freedom Boulevard Monday to make way for an updated sign. While CEO Emil Brolick said the existing logo had served the company well for the past three decades, he...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—With just one week until election day, Santa Cruz County voters still have plenty of options of what to do with their completed ballot. It’s important to know that it is not necessary to mark every section. Leaving an option blank—or even marking...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police on Monday said that three separate shootings that occurred Saturday night—which left two people dead—were not related. Two of them, however, are likely gang-related, WPD spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. The first shooting, which police believe is gang-related, occurred in the area of Marchant...

UPDATE (12:57am, 10/25) Watsonville police say a third man was shot before midnight Saturday on Blackbird Circle behind Ramsay Park—a short walk from the scene of the night’s second homicide. The victim was in critical condition, Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. It is unclear if...

Cooler temperatures continue to run the show, both along the coast and inland. Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service of Monterey, said it will be, “quite a bit windier in the next few days and drier as well.” He added that...

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Law enforcement officials on Thursday arrested a man suspected of running a “chop shop” high in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Victor Guizar Avalos, 40, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of operating a chop shop and possessing ammunition. He was...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police on Thursday arrested a Salinas woman accused of embezzling more than $75,000 from a Watsonville business located on Hangar Way. Julie Brooks, 50, faces felony grand theft charges. She was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on $100,000 bail, but was not in...

Marie Roberts was just 3 years old when she first started to dream of flying. Born in Nebraska in 1928, Roberts watched her father install a large, multi-unit birdhouse in their home’s yard. She was immediately transfixed. “I looked up at those creatures and I started...

WATSONVILLE—Mike Ciglar, a retired Watsonville Police Department officer and fixture in the local law scene for 30 years, died Oct. 15 at 62. A longtime Watsonville resident, soft-spoken and easy going, Ciglar, among other things, played a huge role in community involvement and served at...