Local News

WATSONVILLE—A group of local educators, community leaders, elected officials and family members were among more than two-dozen people who gathered Tuesday at Watsonville Aptos Santa Cruz Adult Education, as the school dedicated a wing of its facility to Rhea DeHart. Also present at the gathering...

WATSONVILLE—A long-neglected garden at Rolling Hills Middle School was brought back to life Thursday thanks to the volunteer efforts of the Watsonville company K&D Landscaping.  Armed with a host of tools and dozens of starter plants, the crew tore into the hard-packed soil as part...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s Ramsay Park will soon be a showcase for local art. The Watsonville Parks and Recreation Commission at its Monday night meeting unanimously approved a trio of images that will be made into movable murals and another image that will be made into a mosaic. When...

Martha’s Kitchen, a 40-year-old organization based in San Jose, has now expanded its free food distribution program to the Pajaro Valley. The nonprofit began in 1981 when Louise Benson, dubbed “The Mother Teresa of San Jose,” began making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to give...

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Fair Board President Don Dietrich has taken over as CEO in the wake of the Oct. 4 dismissal of Dave Kegebein, and says he’ll stay at the helm as the Board recruits a replacement. It is unclear how long that could take,...

WATSONVILLE—A gaggle of educators and nonprofit leaders gathered on the uppermost floor of the Watsonville City Plaza Tuesday to hear Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah outline his department’s operational plan for the next five years. The two-hour session was both a chance...

The man who kidnapped, raped and murdered an 8-year-old girl before placing her body in a recycling bin in 2015 will spend at least another two years in prison. After less than a week of deliberations, a jury denied Adrian “A.J.” Gonzlaez’s bid for parole...

WATSONVILLE—Starting on Oct. 1, anyone receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known in California as CalFresh, will see a slight increase to the amount they receive each month. The changes to the federal Thrifty Food Plan comes thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture...

WATSONVILLE—The Covid-19 community testing site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville is now open to all residents of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. First opened to frontline healthcare workers, first responders and employees working in essential services and roles, the site will now test everyone, including...

A team of workers was at Watsonville Community Hospital Monday, practicing setting up a series of giant tents that someday could serve as a multifaceted mobile hospital.