Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Since it began in January, Santa Cruz County’s composting program has diverted nearly 50,000 tons of food scraps from the Buena Vista Landfill, vastly reducing the amount of methane being released into the atmosphere and reshaping the way residents view their trash. That...

WATSONVILLE—People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect who poisoned two dogs in a residential backyard in Watsonville. PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said the dogs—named Bruno and Luna—died “in agony”...

APTOS—Cabrillo College is in the midst of transforming four of its parking lots with new solar carports, part of what college officials say is a sustainability project aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Work is underway in parking lots A-D, which are just off Soquel...

Mamh Corrigan sets up a display of trees at his family lot, Corrigan Christmas Trees, in the East Lake Village Shopping Center in Watsonville. He said his family is now in their 31st season of selling trees. They carry a range of trees, from...

Watsonville native Richard Gurnee, who revolutionized the field of scientific taxidermy by pioneering a freeze-drying technique still employed worldwide, died in October after a brief illness. He was 87. Gurnee graduated from Watsonville High School in 1954, and then studied zoology at Humboldt State University. But...

WATSONVILLE—In 1961, two years after Cabrillo College in Aptos was established, Rich Hart was hired by the school to start its brand new Engineering department.  Hart would go on to be chair of the department as well as its sole instructor for 34 years, teaching...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Thousands of people in Mid- and North county were without power Wednesday night, and PG&E crews turned the lights back on for more than 5,000 people in Santa Cruz by 6:30pm. More than 11,000 were still in the dark in Soquel, Capitola, parts...

No injuries were reported in this solo-vehicle crash early Tuesday morning. Watsonville Police Sgt. Mike Ridgway said a motorist accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake pedal in her Honda sedan around 6:30am. Her car plowed through a fence as shown here...

WATSONVILLE—A man died Friday around 12:45pm when he lost control of his motorcycle while exiting Highway 1 southbound at the Riverside exit. California Highway patrol officer Israel Murillo said the motorcyclist shot off the pavement on the curve of the exit, plunged through a...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—County health officials announced Tuesday that seasonal cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and the flu have been reported earlier than usual this year, and are on the rise, causing increased hospitalizations for children. Covid-19 is also experiencing an uptick locally and in...