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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...

A day before the new school year started, with more than 16,000 students returning to class throughout Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Pajaro Middle School celebrated the reopening of the campus following major flood repairs.  When the Pajaro River Levee broke during heavy winter rains...

For years, Santa Cruz County lacked a youth crisis center, meaning that young people experiencing a mental health crisis were taken to overloaded emergency rooms, the county’s adult psychiatric facility or were shifted to out-of-county facilities, away from their families. That problem will end in...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday will consider appointing Tamara Vides as its new City Manager. Vides served as interim City Manager in 2021 and more recently in April.  She has held various positions during her 15-year career with the city. This includes Deputy City Manager...

A longtime Pajaro Valley Unified School District substitute teacher is no longer working with the district after an expletive-laden, racist rant following a fender-bender was posted to TikTok on Monday. PVUSD interim Superintendent Murry Schekman did not name the teacher, and did not confirm that...

WATSONVILLE—A 33-year-old pregnant woman died Thursday night as she walked across South Green Valley Road and was struck by a car. She has been identified as Marlyn Uribe of Watsonville by the Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office. Watsonville Police said that, according to witnesses, Uribe was...

In October, a Santa Cruz teen and her younger brother were violently taken from a relative’s house, driven to Los Angeles and forced into a family therapy program with their mother. They were then taken to Washington to live with her. Seven months later,...

Watsonville-raised Matt Mahan is favored to become the next mayor of America’s 10th largest city. The San Jose city councilman’s lead over Santa Clara County supervisor Cindy Chavez grew slightly Wednesday, to 4,766 votes, as ballot counting at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters...

The man who was shot when he reportedly charged at an officer with a knife after threatening to kill his 3-year-old stepdaughter has been released from the hospital, and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail without bail. Joshua Gonzalez, 25, now faces murder charges for...

Located on a busy thoroughfare between Aptos and Watsonville, Bamboo Giant Nursery and Gardens (BGNG) could easily be driven past without a second glance.  But the nursery, tucked into the side of a hill in a rural, forested section of Freedom Boulevard, is actually one...