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Watsonville
December 16, 2025

Photo story: A lighted Watsonville

The front yard of this home at the corner of Hushbeck Avenue and Bronte Street in Watsonville is packed with Holiday cheer.

Interim trail will cover rails, for now

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) on Thursday approved a plan to develop an interim bicycle and pedestrian trail on segments 9–11 of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line from San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz to State Park Drive in Aptos. Thursday’s...

Group urging statewide adoption of childcare safety plan

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrest undocumented immigrants—there were more than 65,000 in custody as of Nov. 16, according to the website tracereports.org—their children are often left behind with no plan in place to care for them.  The Childcare Safety Plan Coalition (CSPC)—a...

Cabrillo College chooses new president

Cabrillo College on Tuesday named the candidate they hope will take the helm as president and Superintendent. If approved by the college’s Board of Trustees on Jan. 12,  Jenn Capps will start on Jan. 20, the college announced in a press release. Capps currently serves as...

Watsonville welcomes new mayor

Outgoing Watsonville Mayor Maria Orozco on Tuesday handed her gavel to Kristal Salcido, as the Mayor Pro Tempore seat went to Casey Clark. Under Watsonville ordinance, the council members rotate through the mayor positions every December. Before she ceded her seat, Orozco said she completed 26...

K9 helps nab suspect, find drugs, cash, gun

A man was arrested Dec. 4 after Monterey County Sheriff's deputies found drugs, cash and a loaded gun in a vehicle. Around 3:15pm, detectives with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Greenfield Police Department and a K9 officer, served a search warrant...

Man dies after being run over by two vehicles

A person died late Saturday night after being run over multiple times on Salinas Road near Lewis Road in Pajaro. The California Highway Patrol said that a pedestrian, who has not been named, was struck and killed around 11:37pm. Police radio traffic stated that...

Registered sex offender arrested again

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against a registered sex offender who recently exposed himself to a woman in Watsonville. James Dineen, 27, is accused of exposing himself to a woman walking near Center Street while parked in his gray Toyota Camry,...

Annual Stuff the Bus Food Drive makes a run

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) held its annual Stuff the Bus Food Drive in partnership with Woodstock’s Pizza, Second Harvest Food Bank and Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce Wednesday in downtown Santa Cruz. To help local families facing food insecurity during the...

Moss Landing fire released 55,000 pounds of heavy metals, study finds

Editor’s note: This story came in part from a report by San Jose State University Professor of Marine Geology Ivano Aiello for the website The Conversation The Jan. 16 fire at the Vistra battery energy storage plant in Moss Landing spewed an estimated 25 metric...
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Watsonville Fire Chief Rudy López to step down

Watsonville Fire Chief Rudy López has announced his retirement after 35 years of service to the community. HIs retirement will be effective Dec. 31.  López...