Local News

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is reaching out to the community for help in solving a 1995 homicide in Watsonville. Investigators say that Gloria Hassemer’s body was found along the Pajaro River Levee near the Highway 1 overcrossing on June 10, 1995. Hassemer, 41,...

WATSONVILLE—A family of a man who died from Covid-19 at Watsonville Post Acute Center (WPAC) has sued the facility. Donald Wickham, 94, died on Oct. 10. He was one of 16 residents who died after contracting the virus. According to the lawsuit filed Nov. 10 by...

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...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police on Thursday arrested a Watsonville man for a stabbing in late November that they say left his victim in critical condition. Angel Fernandez, 24, was charged with attempted second-degree murder. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail,...

WATSONVILLE—A little more than a year ago, Perla Pineda said she had a thought in the back of her mind that would not let her get a good night’s rest. “I felt like something else was calling me,” she said. She remembers waking up in the...

Editor's note: This story has been updated from an earlier version. WATSONVILLE—Nearly four dozen residents of Watsonville Nursing Center have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a new outbreak at the local skilled nursing facility. According to a post on its website, WNC Administrator Rae...

Xipetotec Galindo helps his daughter, Coral Gonzalez, 3, apply paint to a large outdoor mural on the walls of La Manzana on West Lake Avenue in Watsonville. Watsonville artist Yermo Aranda, who originally created the mural, has been working with community members in restoring the mural. The...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—At least 5,600 doses of vaccinations for the novel coronavirus have been distributed throughout Santa Cruz County, a number that county health officials at a Friday press conference said has been significantly impacted by plodding distribution from the state. Overall, the county has...

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...

WATSONVILLE—The National 9 Motel in the heart of the city will be razed in the coming days to make way for a four-story, 80-room Hilton Home2 Suites hotel. Kamalesh Patel, the owner of the half-acre lot at 1 Western Drive, was issued a demolition permit...