Local News

WATSONVILLE—A candidate for Watsonville City Council is calling for Councilwoman Ari Parker to resign for abuse of power after she challenged his standing as a teacher on his candidate statement, and asked City officials to scrub his designation. But Parker is saying that she...

WATSONVILLE—Soon the area’s mountain bikers and BMX riders will have a haven in the heart of the city. The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a deal with Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) that will bring a pump track to Ramsay Park by...

Firefighters now have 91% containment on the Dolan Fire in the Big Sur area. It has burned 124,924 acres and destroyed 14 homes. The fire began Aug. 18. This morning our reporter Todd Guild and I drove up into the San Lorenzo Valley to Boulder...

The Aptos Branch of the Santa Cruz County Public Library is on deck for demolition and rebuild as it has outgrown its current facilities. The County has completed a feasibility study, chosen a design-build team, and started the design process. That design concept was...

Weather forecasters are warning of strong winds coming later this week. With the wave of wildland fires that have plagued California for weeks, firefighters are keeping a wary eye on the change in weather, which will also usher in bumped up temperatures as well....

WATSONVILLE—Three men are facing felony vandalism charges for allegedly defacing more than a half-dozen businesses in downtown Watsonville with graffiti early Saturday. Richard Betancourt, 40, Javier Alvarado, 29, and Juan Bautista, 23, all of Watsonville, were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of...

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...

WATSONVILLE—Gerald Hunter, the former director of Watsonville Post Acute Center, announced on Oct. 19 that he has stepped down from the position. On the facility’s website, Hunter stated that Rae Ann Radford has taken the job. The announcement did not give a reason for the...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department and the County of Santa Cruz will host a Drive-Thru Trunk-or-Treat event Friday between 4:30-7:30pm, or until supplies last. Families are invited to drive their vehicles through Ramsay Park, 1301 Main St., starting at the Main...

MOSS LANDING—As commercial crab fishermen prepare for the season to begin on Nov. 1, they are also grappling with a strict set of new regulations that start the same day, which some say could severely curtail their livelihood. The new rules, created by the California...