Local News

With foundation work completed and now in its framing stage, 72 new affordable apartments by MidPen Housing are going skyward at 139-141 Miles Lane. The Watsonville City Council approved the development in 2020, a joint project between MidPen and Encompass Community Services, which is being...

SANTA CRUZ—A Santa Cruz man was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of homicide, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said. Leif Ames, 35, was arrested around 8:50 p.m. after deputies were dispatched to a home on the 800 block of Brommer Street in Live Oak...

LODI—A 57-year-old Watsonville woman who died April 17 after her parachutes failed to open while skydiving in Lodi has been identified as Sabrina Call, the San Joaquin Sheriff-Coroner confirmed. Witnesses said that both her main and reserve parachutes became tangled. The incident occurred at about 2:30pm...

PAJARO—As Pajaro residents wait for waters to recede and for officials to lift the evacuation orders that have beset the small community since the March 11 levee breach, hundreds of Pajaro Middle School students are attending class three miles away at Lakeview Middle School. Pajaro...

Note: reporter Todd Guild contributed to this report SALINAS—The pesticide Telone–also known as 1,3-D–is thought to be so dangerous that it is banned in 34 countries. And yet, despite having been disallowed in California from 1990-94, it is still used on crops, including on local...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Measure M, a $350 million bond that would fund much-needed renovation and construction projects at every school in the district, is so far passing by a narrow margin. Measure M would raise $18.3 million annually by placing $60 per $100,000...

WATSONVILLE—An art studio and performance center for Pajaro Valley Arts, or an Italian restaurant, boutique hotel and creative office space for the Pajaronian?  The Watsonville City Council is expected to decide the fate of the historic Porter Building during the closed session of its virtual...

WATSONVILLE—Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 24 revealed a new temporary housing program that aims to help agricultural workers across the state better protect themselves and their families during the Covid-19 pandemic. Housing for the Harvest will offer temporary hotel housing to workers who need to...

The Santa Cruz Open Taekwondo Championships was held Saturday for the 28th year running, and this time Watsonville played host.