Featured

The Fourth of July has long been a time of celebration in Santa Cruz County, a height-of-summer fete that draws hordes of people to local beaches to indulge in picnics, swim in the ocean, soak up the sun and, for some, trash the place. But...

PAJARO—A little more than a month after the Pajaro Levee broke and released waves of roiling river water that laid waste to homes, businesses and crops in Pajaro, a group of local, state and federal lawmakers gathered near the river in Monterey County on...

Community Bridges’ annual Farm to Fork Gala is back for its eighth year, and this year the Santa Cruz County nonprofit has teamed up with the Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains to help raise financial relief funds for farmers and farmworkers affected by...

As students across the state prepare to return to the classroom from their summer break, school districts are faced with a vexing problem: declining enrollment and chronic absenteeism—both of which have been growing every year—are combining to take a bite out of annual revenues,...

Plans are underway to install four larger-than-life sculptures in downtown Watsonville as part of an overall redesign of Watsonville Plaza.  While the historical gazebo/bandstand, designed by famed architect William Weeks, will still maintain its spot in the plaza center, ideas are being discussed to retrofit...

In the minutes before the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously on Tuesday approved an equity statement and a series of steps to achieve it, Elaine Johnson, president of Santa Cruz County’s NAACP branch, described an experience five years ago that she says...

Watsonville Police on Sunday used a newly acquired drone to capture a man in the act of allegedly burglarizing a marijuana growing business. Omar Cortez Ramirez, 40, was charged with first-degree burglary and resisting arrest. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police seized 16 firearms from 12 different cases in February. “The list of guns seized by Watsonville Police officers keeps growing,” said Michelle Pulido, spokeswoman for WPD. “Most of these guns were used to commit some sort of crime in Watsonville and were in...

An 18-year-old man was arrested late Tuesday after Watsonville Police caught him street racing. Michelle Pulido, spokeswoman for WPD, said a night shift officer was patrolling on the 500 block on Main Street when he spotted two cars racing. He was able to catch up...

Around 300 people joined the peaceful “March Towards Love and Courage” Monday evening from the London Nelson Community Center to Santa Cruz City Hall as part of Juneteenth.  Juneteenth, which celebrates the emancipation of slaves in the United States, was designated a federal holiday in...