Local News

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville police officer who began his career with the agency as a cadet three decades ago has become the department’s newest police chief. Jorge Zamora was chosen after an extensive national search. “Through the process, Jorge demonstrated his in-depth knowledge and understanding of our community...

CENTRAL COAST—Rain and hail gave the Central Coast a dash of badly needed precipitation over the past week—with a hint more rain set for this weekend—but officials are still warning of a critically dry year if rain clouds don’t rally before the start of...

Editor's note: This story was updated on April 9 at 4pm with information about upcoming community meetings. The cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz are opposing the proposed placement of a man deemed a sexually violent predator, and are urging residents to contact Santa Cruz...

WATSONVILLE—The third phase of Watsonville Brillante, the massive mosaic project in downtown Watsonville, is taking shape. Splashed across the exterior walls of the six-story Civic Plaza parking garage at Rodriguez and Second streets, the new phase will come in two halves five months apart. Last...

I spoke with the National Weather Service today and a meteorologist told me that a long dry period was about to settle over our region for a long time, possibly through the end of the month, which is not good, being that it is...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a slew of proposed changes to the county’s justice system recommended by the Justice and Gender Task Force, a large coalition of lawmakers, public service and nonprofit directors, law enforcement officials and...

SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Tuesday issued a health advisory urging everyone to refrain from vaping, no matter the substance or source, until current investigations are complete. The advisory followed an executive order signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept....

The Pajaro Valley Unified District Board of Trustees on Wednesday tabled a plan to change the way art and music classes are allocated to its elementary schools. In delaying the vote, the board agreed to return to the discussion after a study session of the...

AROMAS—A large wildland fire in Aromas that started on July 21 charred 104 acres and was 100% contained as of Thursday, Cal Fire spokesperson Cecile Juliette said. At 3:21pm on July 21, two fires broke out behind Graniterock’s AR Wilson Quarry east of Aromas. Cal...

A group that studies and archives the history of local Filipino people—and provides educational materials of that history—on Wednesday suspended its work with Pajaro Valley Unified School District, alleging that the Board of Trustees erred when they rejected a contract renewal for an ethnic...