Local News

A woman who was found dead in a stand of bushes along Harkins Slough Friday morning suffered multiple stings by either bees or yellowjackets before her death, Watsonville Police Sgt. Brian Ridgway said.

Last March, film director Melissa Elizondo was about to board a plane from Mexico bound for the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) when she got a call from Executive Director Consuelo Alba. The festival had been canceled due to the pandemic, and international travel was...

WATSONVILLE—Planners have identified five sites throughout downtown Watsonville that, if renovated, they believe could become potential economic catalysts for the historic but currently sleepy business corridor. Those plans include the razing of the Old City Hall building and current Watsonville Police Department headquarters between Main...

Every year around this time, a group of Watsonville High School students foregoes class for the day, opting instead for a day at work.

WATSONVILLE—A Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge on Wednesday ruled that Watsonville Municipal Airport officials were in the wrong when they placed barriers at a business nearly three years ago that blocked access to the runways. The Statement of Decision by Judge Timothy Volkmann means...

Watsonville firefighters are responding to a crash at the intersection of Freedom and Airport boulevards, where the driver of a Ford F-150 truck lost control, tore through a planter bed and a wooden fence and then crashed into a vehicle parked at an urgent care clinic.

After 133 people died in Santa Cruz County in 2023 after overdosing on Fentanyl, the Sheriff’s Office has launched a new way to address the problem, with a special focus on the people who deal the dangerous drug. The Fentanyl Crisis Response Team includes five...

WATSONVILLE—A two-year process to create a plan of action for Watsonville’s downtown got underway Wednesday.  A who’s who of city leaders, law enforcement officials, community program directors, downtown business owners, developers and housing advocates convened for the public meeting — the first of several planned...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team (SCCACT) on Thursday arrested a 24-year-old woman at her Watsonville residence after they found several firearms, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Samantha Sanchez, 24, is on parole and is prohibited from owning either. Sanchez is a known gang...