News

Santa Cruz County residents are being encouraged to apply for the next Civil Grand Jury, a volunteer watchdog panel that investigates local government operations and issues public reports aimed at improving transparency and accountability. The 2026–27 term begins July 1, with the Superior Court expected...

Watsonville Police respond to a three-vehicle crash Wednesday on Green Valley Road at Freedom Boulevard. Watsonville Police said that around 2:50pm a man driving a Honda Accord (right) southbound on Green Valley Road appeared to have lost control of his sedan and plowed into...

Editor's note: This story was updated on April 9 at 4pm with information about upcoming community meetings. The cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz are opposing the proposed placement of a man deemed a sexually violent predator, and are urging residents to contact Santa Cruz...

About a dozen people march March 29 in downtown Santa Cruz to garner awareness and support for homeless people. Put on by Food Not Bombs and the Homeless Union, their message to the people along Pacific Avenue was to stop the sweeps of homeless...

Dozens of artworks from all grades within the Pajaro Valley Unified School District are now on display at the Watsonville Civic Plaza Building.  From portraits to abstracts and still lifes, the 2026 Annual Art Exhibition fans out through both floors of the Watsonville Public Library,...

Updated at 1:45pm, April 5 A Castroville man died early Saturday morning in a hit-and-run crash in Moss Landing. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said emergency officials responded to a head-on collision on Highway 1 north of Springfield Road in Moss Landing at 12:47am. The  California Highway...

Watsonville High School senior Acuzena Sandoval had her pick of colleges — from several UC campuses to the Ivy League. She chose Stanford. The decision capped years of academic work rooted in a clear goal: using science and engineering to address the environmental challenges she has...

One hundred years of wedding dresses from local women, spanning each decade between 1890 to 1990, are now on display at the Pajaro Valley Historical Association’s Bockius-Orr house in Watsonville.  PVHA board member Virginia Avila, office administrator Jodi Frensley and a cast of volunteers teamed...

New Leaf Energy, the company proposing a battery energy storage system (BESS) facility for Minto Road in Watsonville, has submitted a pre-application to the California Energy Commission seeking approval for the project. The move was a possibility county officials have long feared since the project...