About Town

WATSONVILLE—As the aroma of sizzling meats, tortillas and salsa wafted across the parking lot of Watsonville Police Department May 11, a swarm of retired and current police officers and WPD staff gathered for a friendly send off to Sgt. Bryan Fuentez on his final...

Observations from around Watsonville.

A demolition crew tears out the last of the Watsonville Nature Center in Ramsay Park as part of a major upgrade to the park. The center, a small portable building located toward the back of the park, was the only free, bilingual environmental education...

Tarmo Hannula: Two new police officers will officially hit the streets this weekend in Watsonville to begin their 20-week Field Training phase. When they are done, they will join four others in their various stages of training, which will eventually add up to a...

Today marks the start of week two of the shelter-in-place order in Santa Cruz County—the order by health officials to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. Here's a round-up of a few important issues: • There is a coronavirus phone hotline in...

The other day I saw someone had dressed up the surfer statue on the westside of Santa Cruz as a firefighter. I imagine it's some form of acknowledgement of the hard work firefighters are doing in battling our wild land blazes. • Maybe desperation has hit...

Congress is still hammering out details on a $2 trillion rescue package to help the country weather the coronavirus outbreak. Financial relief in the package is aimed at helping large corporations, the airline industry, hospitals and public transportation. In addition, around $367 billion is...

A painting crew has been busy adding a fresh coat of paint and a new look Thursday and Friday to the long-standing Beach Street Cafe on West Beach Street. Help is on the way for small businesses hit by sweeping closures, layoffs, and downsizing because...

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday that it is temporarily stopping jail tours, screening those being brought to the main jail and stopping contact visits at all facilities. The move is in response to the declaration of local health emergency by the...

TARMO HANNULA A dead humpback whale washed ashore at Rio Del Mar State Beach Monday. California State Parks Ranger Joseph Carr Ritchie said the male humpback was about 13 years old. Researchers are looking into the cause of death while California State Parks is looking...