About Town

Tarmo Hannula: The New China Buffet, on the ground floor of the 1871 Mansion House on Main Street in Watsonville, has closed. The historic building, once seated at the corner of Main Street at East Beach Street (once named Third Street) was eventually moved...

TARMO HANNULA: Temperatures sunk into the 30s overnight. The National Weather Service said rain will drench our region Thursday, starting up before 8 a.m. • More than 17.9 million acres have now burned in Australia’s bush fires, an area larger than Belgium and Denmark combined. So far...

I stopped by the pumpkin patch on Soquel Drive just south of Dominican Hospital recently. They were offering tractor pull rides as part of all the fun. • Election Day is a week away and the ads keep piling up. I’ve seen Yes and No on...

Hundreds attended Wednesday’s memorial for Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, who was gunned down while on duty June 6 in Ben Lomond. A miles-long motorcade that started at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and threaded through the county began the day. Hundreds...

Residents in Santa Cruz County now enter the third week of the shelter-in-place order from health officials launched on March 16 in response to the COVID-19 spread. Now those officials are shifting the initial two-week plan to remain in place until at least May...

The RedBall Project, a global public art installation that has been to more than 30 cities since 2001, visits the Cabrillo College Watsonville Center Friday. The display is in celebration of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History’s 25th anniversary. The 15-foot blow-up...

There are now 1,931 cases of Covid-19 in Santa Cruz County. The Bay Area has 91,246 cases while the state reports a total of 741,593 cases. Law enforcement put extra personnel to work over the Labor Day weekend in an effort to keep people...

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

Ana Ramirez (center) and Kim DeChicchio-Sanchez line up to sample wine from Integrity Wines Saturday evening at the Evening of Wine & Roses at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. The 39th annual silent auction and fundraiser, presented by the Community Health Trust of the...

Tony Nuñez: On a tear-filled night, Watsonville councilwomen Rebecca Garcia and Trina Coffman-Gomez were sworn in as mayor and vice-mayor, respectivley, Tuesday. Garcia, a Watsonville native who has more than 30 years of experience in politics, replaced Francisco "Paco" Estrada. Estrada will continue on the council...