Local News

The Safe Schools Project of Santa Cruz County is hosting its annual Rainbow Conference on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Watsonville High School. The event is billed as a day of “celebration, community and learning” for LGBTQ youth of all ages and the people who support...

With a small handful of finishing touches still left to complete on a tiny home village in Westview Presbyterian Church’s parking lot in Watsonville, organizers say the project will be complete in late November. And with only occupancy permits needed after that, the 34-unit Recurso...

For 15 years, city leaders have been looking for ways to re-envision the Capitola Mall, which like many of its shopping-center brethren across the U.S., has lost a measure of the luster it had a few decades ago, the neon-colored heyday of the 80s. And...

Two programs at Cabrillo College are at risk after the federal government announced major funding shifts away from schools that serve minority students. When U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on Sept. 10 announced that the Department of Education is ending discretionary funding to Hispanic-serving...

A ribbon-cutting was held Thursday to celebrate the completion of an upgrade to the heavily worn out Murphy Crossing Road east of Watsonville. With close to 1,800 vehicles a day using the .63-mile stretch between San Juan and Riverside roads, the two-lane roadway was for...

The Santa Cruz County Fair wrapped up Sunday at the close of its five-day, 2025 season. “We had an excellent fair,” said Ron Haedicke, marketing director. “ It was a great run with no issues. Attendance was down 10 percent from last year, but we...

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Watsonville Sunday for the annual Mexican Independence Day Festival. Hosted by Fiestas Patrias, the free event featured a wealth of live bands, both local and from Mexico, folkloric dance groups, food booths, arts and crafts and information tables that...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District has hired a new public information officer. Alejandro Chávez will serve as the intermediary between the public and media, and the district. According to a Facebook post, Chávez brings more than two decades of experience in public service, nonprofit management and...

Twelve years ago, the first Open Farms Tours event was literally a washout. Held in early November at the Corralitos Women’s Center, the debut coincided with the heaviest rainstorm of the year. The 4-H animal zoo zone was mired in mud, music was canceled, and...