Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Writer Stephen Kessler has been named the 2023 Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission.  Kessler has written a dozen volumes of original poetry, 16 books of literary translation, three collections of essays and a novel, “The Mental Traveler.”...

WATSONVILLE—A man was killed after he was shot late Sunday night during a struggle with another man on Sunny Hills Drive at Herman Court. Watsonville Police Sgt. Charles Bailey said police got reports of gunfire following a fight between at least two men in a...

WATSONVILLE—Today between 1-4pm, a community outreach team from Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) will visit flood victims in Watsonville to see if they are in need of immediate food. The free mobile food pantry is part of Second Harvest’s response to the recent historic storms...

WATSONVILLE—President Joe Biden touched down at Watsonville Municipal Airport on Thursday, a visit that followed his emergency declaration on Jan. 9, which allows businesses and residents that suffered damage and loss in the recent spate of storms to receive federal aid. After touring Capitola Village...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Soon after President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the areas of California besieged by a series of atmospheric river storms on Jan. 9—a move that allowed victims to request financial help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency—Watsonville resident Amy Thomas...

CENTRAL COAST—After a powerful string of nine atmospheric rivers drenched much of California, took 20 lives and washed away scores of weather-related records, sunshine began drying out the Central Coast this week. Topping the charts was a whopping 24.5 trillion gallons of water that draped...

Fruition Brewing to host drag show fundraiser Pajaro Valley Pride (PVP), a local organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating South County’s LGBTQ+ community, will host a drag show fundraiser Saturday at Fruition Brewing in Watsonville.  “aQUEERious Winter Ball!” will feature a number of performers and a...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Community Bridges is providing cleanup tools and resources at Family Resource Collective (FRC) locations, aiming to help the community recover from the floods and mudslides produced by the recent storms. Residents can rent items such as air movers, dehumidifiers, wet/dry vacs, carpet cleaners,...

PAJARO VALLEY—As the intense series of atmospheric river storms wane, many farmers and agriculture workers across the state of California are left reeling from flood impacts. Many streams, creeks and major rivers in Northern and Central California overflowed their banks during the deluge, sending water...

Longtime Watsonville resident Virginia Varni recently celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by family and friends.  She was born on Jan. 11, 1923 in Breckenridge, Texas to Charles and Grace Leonard. The family moved to Southern California and Varni gave the first-ever radio broadcast from first...