Local News

WATSONVILLE—Rebecca Garcia could not wait to start her mayorship. Days before the longtime public servant was sworn in at the tail end of Tuesday night’s Watsonville City Council meeting, she had already had multiple meetings with City Manager Matt Huffaker and asked him to prepare...

Elias Gutierrez, 47, is suspected of selling marijuana illegally along with his son, 27-year-old Eli Gutierrez. He returns to court later this month for his preliminary hearing.

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council promoted longtime Assistant City Clerk Irwin Ortiz to the municipality’s top clerical position at Tuesday night’s meeting. Ortiz has been with the City of Watsonville since 2010. He started as an intern for the city manager’s office before moving into the...

New Watsonville Police Officer Collin Travers started his first week of solo patrol.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—In honor of International Women’s Month, Hospice of Santa Cruz County (HSCC) and the Hospice Giving Foundation (HGF) will host a free virtual roundtable on March 24.  “The Role of Latina Women in the Care of Parents and Grandparents” will be held from...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to hire an independent auditor for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office who would investigate such issues as citizen complaints and use of force. The move followed a report by...

When local conservation pioneer and philanthropist Diane Porter Cooley died last March, members of Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) knew they wanted to pay tribute to her in some way. Cooley was a founding board member of PVA and instrumental in its success over the years....

SANTA CRUZ—More than 100 County of Santa Cruz workers filled the County Supervisors chambers during the board’s bi-monthly meeting on Tuesday, where many of them demanded pay increases and other requests to highlight ongoing contract negotiations between their union and the County. The workers, members...

WATSONVILLE—Two years ago Regeneracíon-Pajaro Valley Climate Action gathered data on the impact climate change has had on agricultural workers and the Pajaro Valley community at large. Now, the nonprofit is trying to form a more complete representation of the agriculture-rich region. Regeneracíon is asking farmers in...

Thanks to the help of an alert resident, officers on patrol arrested a man suspected of breaking into a local business. Dispatchers received a call from a community member reporting that a man was acting suspicious on the 300 block of Harvest Drive. As Watsonville Police...