Local News

As the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors prepares to approve its $1.04 billion budget—a process that includes presentations from every department later this month—they must consider a grim prediction: a recession will hit this year, and is estimated to last the better part...

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SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Pacific Gas & Electric company is planning for a widespread Public Safety Power Shutoff that will affect numerous Northern California counties, including Santa Cruz County.  According to the company, power shutoffs are likely this evening between 8pm and 10pm, with more than 6,000...

With sunshine interspersed with scattered showers expected to last through Monday, another storm anticipated to hit the Central Coast early Tuesday will bring up to eight inches in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and at least three inches to the rest of Santa Cruz County. The...

Watsonville firefighters attack a fire that broke out in a two-story home on the 400 block East Beach Street Thursday morning. Battalion Chief Jon Goulding said the blaze opened up in a second floor portion of the home that is divided into several units....

WATSONVILLE—Every year during the month of October, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office sends daily statistics to local media, counting the domestic violence calls to which county law enforcement officials respond. It is a grim tally and a reminder during Domestic Violence Awareness Month...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Public Library (WPL) has received a $12,000 grant which it will use to establish a “creative cafe” at its Freedom Branch. Similar to a makerspace, a creative cafe is a hub offering a community a place to produce creative projects. The Freedom Branch’s...

Johanna Miller His Dark Materials (HBO/BBC) I was both excited and nervous when I heard that BBC and HBO would be releasing a miniseries adaptation of my favorite book series, “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman. As a longtime fan, I was hoping it would at...

By Abigail Acosta, Special to the Pajaronian WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is hoping recent additions to its Cannabis Equity Program will spark a time of opportunity for the city’s minority cannabis business owners. First approved by the City Council in 2019, the equity program was put...