Local News

CALIFORNIA—Nineteen people were shot and killed in three separate mass shootings in California in three days. On Monday around 2:20pm four people were killed at the Mountain Mushroom Co. on Highway 92 in the surf-side city of Half Moon Bay. A short while later the...

ROYAL OAKS—For seven years, Little Hill Sanctuary (LHS) in Royal Oaks has been rescuing animals from abuse, neglect and slaughter, while teaching the public about animal agriculture and plant-based living. The nonprofit shelter, nestled on a steep hill off of Maher Road, is home...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Jan. 17 unanimously approved the construction of a new self-storage facility to be located in the long abandoned, weed-choked parking lot between Watsonville Municipal Airport and the Community Hospital. Located at 70 Nielsen St., the facility—called Crocker’s Lockers—will offer 1,072...

SANTA CRUZ—In 2022, Coastal Kids Home Care provided in-home nursing care for 65 children with serious and life-threatening illnesses, work that also benefited 228 family members. Such services are vital in Santa Cruz County, where an estimated 1,700 young people need such services, says Christine...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Writer Stephen Kessler has been named the 2023 Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission.  Kessler has written a dozen volumes of original poetry, 16 books of literary translation, three collections of essays and a novel, “The Mental Traveler.”...

WATSONVILLE—A man was killed after he was shot late Sunday night during a struggle with another man on Sunny Hills Drive at Herman Court. Watsonville Police Sgt. Charles Bailey said police got reports of gunfire following a fight between at least two men in a...

WATSONVILLE—Today between 1-4pm, a community outreach team from Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) will visit flood victims in Watsonville to see if they are in need of immediate food. The free mobile food pantry is part of Second Harvest’s response to the recent historic storms...

WATSONVILLE—President Joe Biden touched down at Watsonville Municipal Airport on Thursday, a visit that followed his emergency declaration on Jan. 9, which allows businesses and residents that suffered damage and loss in the recent spate of storms to receive federal aid. After touring Capitola Village...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Soon after President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the areas of California besieged by a series of atmospheric river storms on Jan. 9—a move that allowed victims to request financial help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency—Watsonville resident Amy Thomas...

CENTRAL COAST—After a powerful string of nine atmospheric rivers drenched much of California, took 20 lives and washed away scores of weather-related records, sunshine began drying out the Central Coast this week. Topping the charts was a whopping 24.5 trillion gallons of water that draped...