Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Health officials from eight Bay Area counties on Monday issued a set of guidelines created to keep families safe from Covid-19 during the holidays. The recommendations cover travel and gatherings. The health officers from the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco,...

Watsonville City Councilman Jimmy Dutra was in Santa Cruz County Superior Court Tuesday, where jury selection began for his civil trial.  The trial is expected to last through Sept. 13, Judge Timothy Schmal told the mostly empty courtroom.  Dutra is accused of sexually abusing a boy...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Jan. 19 took its first look at the ways the district’s boundaries could be redrawn during the decennial redistricting process. During redistricting, jurisdictions use the recent census to see how their populations have grown over...

WATSONVILLE—A man with a history of burglarizing businesses by entering through their rooftops was arrested again on Aug. 25, when he allegedly broke into Cabrillo College’s Watsonville campus, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. Fermin Sanchez, 33, faces new burglary and trespassing charges. He was...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—It is unlikely that Santa Cruz County will move from the purple “widespread” tier to the less restrictive red “substantial” tier when the state updates its tier assignments Tuesday, according to county spokesman Jason Hoppin. That means several indoor business operations will continue...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees late Wednesday agreed to not pay an attorney fee racked up by trustee Georgia Acosta during a meeting on Jan. 29. In making the decision, the board agreed that Acosta, who was then board president, went...

More than 100 people take part in a highly energized dance Saturday evening at the Seascape Golf Course during the annual Memory of Hank deDiego Zumba for Autism.

WATSONVILLE—A man has filed a civil lawsuit in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, claiming that 4th District Supervisorial candidate Jimmy Dutra molested him when he was 12. A case management conference is scheduled for Feb. 3. The Pajaronian typically does not name victims in stories involving...