Local News

A Watsonville High School graduate who made a life and career out of metalwork – and who learned the trade at the school – has returned to reincarnate the program.

The Fourth of July has long been a time of celebration in Santa Cruz County, a height-of-summer fete that draws hordes of people to local beaches to indulge in picnics, swim in the ocean, soak up the sun and, for some, trash the place. But...

The former owners of Watsonville Community Hospital are facing a lawsuit alleging that they took more than $3.9 million for their own use, and that their mismanagement led the hospital  to bankruptcy and to the brink of financial ruin. Halsen Healthcare was removed from its...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man was arrested Dec. 9 after a man he punched during a fight died one week later. Jose Figueroa Gonzalez, 30, is facing manslaughter charges for the Dec. 2 fight outside the Burger King restaurant on Main Street at Riverside Drive. That night, officers...

WATSONVILLE—Taqueria Mi Tierra is best known around the Pajaro Valley and the greater Monterey Bay for its towering, spicy chavelas—a tasty concoction that contains beer, lime juice, assorted sauces, spices, tomato juice and chile peppers. Co-owner Fernando Munoz said the family has served the drink...

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Seven days into the battle against the CZU August Lightning Complex fires, Cal Fire officials announced Saturday morning that they were able to get their first “jump” on the growing blaze in the Santa Cruz mountains. Although the fire overnight grew to 63,000...

A Watsonville man was arrested Monday for alleged sex crimes involving a child, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office announced. Eric Martinez-Villanueva, 21, was arrested  without incident at his residence along the 10 block of Lassen Way, Monterey County Sheriff’s Commander Andres Rosas stated in a...

SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday revealed what he called a new, more “stringent” four-tiered reopening system that allows counties to open their economies depending on their Covid-19 case and test positivity rates. The new system replaces the monitoring list and removes many of the old...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Since its inception last year, more than 100 people have gone through Santa Cruz County’s Neighborhood Courts program, with 90 completing the requirements set out in their agreements and avoiding a permanent criminal record. Now, the program is looking for a team of...