About Town

The surfer statue on West Cliff Drive on the west side of Santa Cruz is an ever-changing sounding board for current affairs. Most recently, residents went with a Halloween theme by decorating it with a pumpkin head. During the CZU Complex Fires, someone dressed...

No one came to our door Saturday night for Halloween. Typically we get dozens of kids in costumes, families roaming the streets, strangers greeting strangers at the doorstep. Not this year. Downtown Santa Cruz, however, came out in force with, what police said was...

Work continues on the new Rail Trail system, a network of bike and pedestrian paths along the old train rail that will eventually connect Watsonville to Davenport. • Today is Veteran’s Day. Due to the coronavirus, like just about everything else in today’s world (especially special...

While the artificial turf has been rolled out at Pajaro Valley High's new athletic field, work continues on the overall project. • It’s less than a month before the days start getting longer again. Phew! This year, with Covid in the air, curfews, lockdowns in the...

I stopped by the watsonville Certified Farmers Market today, my first such visit in months. While I was glad to see the market up and running, the skimpy showing of people was a bit disheartening. However, I was there before 1:30pm and figured it...

November 14, 2019 Tarmo Hannula: I stopped by Freedom Meat Lockers in Watsonville Wednesday and the place was abuzz with customers stacking up their Thanksgiving meal orders, among other things. Manager Will Panis said now is the time to get orders in as things are...

Nov. 20, 2019 Tarmo Hannula: Someone called 9-1-1 Wednesday morning after they spotted a man prowling around their carport on Harper Street in Live Oak. An SC Sheriff deputy arrived within minutes and located a suspect at 3:40 a.m. When the deputy confronted the man...

Charles Lafferty, the man arrested last week in the bizarre case regarding numerous vehicles being struck by projectiles over the past 11 months in Prunedale, made another court appearance in Salinas Monday. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office said Lafferty is now facing 79...

The 1917 Watsonville Woman's Club, in Tudor Revival style, has just undergone a new exterior paint job, thanks to the efforts of Masters Painting. Mike Masters said he was pleased with the outcome but added that due to the age of the structure, there...

Today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the U.S. designed to honor and mourn military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. It also marks the unofficial start of summer in the U.S.  • Travel is at an all-time low this holiday weekend, officials...