Local News

WATSONVILLE—Situated along the western coast of São Jorge Island in Portugal is Velas, a historic port town with a population of just over 5,580 people. Located in the Azores, the city is one of the oldest settlements on the island, boasting incredible ocean views...

WATSONVILLE—The man who was arrested on Dec. 22 on suspicion of robbing the Freedom Centre Rite Aid store in Watsonville at gunpoint 24-hours earlier has a lengthy history with local police. Raymond Quiñonez, in late 2001, was arrested after making a string of bomb threats...

WATSONVILLE—In early December, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved next year’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), a 188-page list of projects the county hopes to complete or move forward on over the next five years. The $966 million plan includes upgrades to various...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Public Works employees teamed up with Watsonville police and fire departments Tuesday to dismantle a camp that homeless advocates set up on Dec. 12 in a city-owned parking lot adjacent to the Buddhist Temple on Bridge Street. With signage posted about the small encampment...

CENTRAL COAST—Winter started Dec. 21 and colder, wet weather came through the door with it. A series of storms have dumped heavy rains across the Central Coast and record-breaking snow in the Sierra Nevada. Just weeks ago warnings of severe drought and water rationing were...

WATSONVILLE—Plans by a local grower to transform a small plot of land owned by Watsonville Municipal Airport into an organic farm have come to an abrupt end. Adrian Mondragon, who owns Urban Organics, says he was evicted from the property in September after he and...

APTOS—Highway 1 from Rio Del Mar Boulevard to State Park Drive will be closed overnight on Jan. 18-20 to repair the railroad bridge at the South Aptos Undercrossing. Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission spokesperson Shannon Munz said the work includes repair of the bridge...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Jan. 19 took its first look at the ways the district’s boundaries could be redrawn during the decennial redistricting process. During redistricting, jurisdictions use the recent census to see how their populations have grown over...

WATSONVILLE—In 2012, voters within the Pajaro Valley Unified School District approved Measure L, a $150 million bond that has funded construction and rehabilitation projects at nearly every facility in the district. And, one decade after its passage, the bond is drawing to a close. According to...