Local News

Watsonville Plaza is aglow with thousands of colorful lights as part of the City of Watsonville's annual holiday celebrations. Next on the calendar is the annual Santa Tour around the city Dec. 13-15, where Santa and his elves and others tour area schools and...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Measure M, a $350 million bond that would fund much-needed renovation and construction projects at every school in the district, is so far passing by a narrow margin. Measure M would raise $18.3 million annually by placing $60 per $100,000...

Dozens of law enforcement officials from two counties were searching the summit area high in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Soquel Village Tuesday morning after a burglary suspect fled from a sheriff’s deputy.

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Probation Department is in the final stages of securing state funding for a major upgrade to the Juvenile Hall, a project county officials say will help better secure the facility, give youth offenders recreational activities and offer job skills...

WATSONVILLE—The three candidates vying for the Fourth District seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors squared off in a forum Tuesday night, touching on transportation, housing and other issues affecting the county. The forum was hosted by the Santa Cruz County Chamber of...

Several Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies assigned to guard the Main Jail were taken to the hospital Wednesday after they were exposed to an unknown substance.

Several thousand people showed up for the reopening ceremony of the Capitola Wharf on Wednesday, celebrating its survival after it was cleaved in two by heavy storms. The wharf, founded in 1857, now boasts new lighting, side rails, benches, permanently mounted viewing scopes,  several art...

WATSONVILLE—Since the state opened its Covid-related rental assistance program roughly a year ago, 889 Watsonville residents who have fallen behind on their monthly payments have submitted an application for help. But only around half of those people have received funds, putting them in a precarious...

Motorists navigate a single lane section of Highway 152 (Hecker Pass) Monday. Officials opened the conduit between Watsonville and Gilroy to traffic in both directions following major landslides that closed the highway for more than a week. Drivers should be aware that there is...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office installed a new body scanner Tuesday at the intake area of the Main Jail to help snare contraband before it is brought in.  The Tek84 scanner, which is similar to those used at airports to screen travelers, provides...