Local News

The City of Watsonville FREE curbside pick up of Christmas trees. Jan. 7-11, 2019

Watsonville Police on Tuesday arrested a murder suspect after an hours-long standoff in a strawberry field near Trafton and McGowan roads, just outside Pájaro. Hector Rocha, 44, of Watsonville, has been charged with first-degree murder. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail, where he...

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Law enforcement officials on Thursday arrested a man suspected of running a “chop shop” high in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Victor Guizar Avalos, 40, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of operating a chop shop and possessing ammunition. He was...

SAN FRANCISCO—The man accused of shooting and killing a federal officer in Oakland two years ago—and wounding a second officer—is scheduled to plead guilty to the charges Friday in Northern District Court in San Francisco, court documents show. Steven Carrillo, a former U.S. Air Force...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission on Thursday unanimously agreed to release a request for proposals (RFP) for an engineering study of the county’s rail line, the first step in what will be a multiple-year project to establish a passenger rail system. The...

Heavy smoke pours out of a mushroom farm in Las Lomas Tuesday at 4:15pm where indoor equipment caught fire. Jess Mendoza, Battalion Chief with North Monterey County, said firefighters got a quick handle on the blaze at 415 Hall Road. No injuries were reported...

The Watsonville High School (WHS) Drama Department had been preparing for a production of the musical “Matilda” in March 2020 when everything was shut down by the pandemic.  For three semesters, students were unable to return to the stage for performances, instead taking acting, tech...

WATSONVILLE—Annie Morhauser, whose Watsonville-based studio, Annieglass, has become a cornerstone of the Santa Cruz County arts community, has been named the 2022 Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission. She has been making her glassware in Santa Cruz County since 1983....

Watsonville Community Hospital is one of 17 medical facilities in California that will receive immediate multimillion-dollar financial assistance in the form of zero-interest loans from the State of California. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced the $300 million Distressed Hospital Loan Program. Locally, this includes...

A light sprinkle fell over Watsonville Tuesday but for only about 15 minutes. The National Weather Service said there is also a chance of rain tonight. After that, the next chance of rain isn’t until Saturday. • A 5.8 earthquake rattled a portion of Northern California...