Local News

WATSONVILLE—Two minors and a 20-year-old man have been arrested for their suspected involvement in the October 2021 murder of 21-year-old Abel Ruiz. Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said deputies arrested Juan Carlos Almaraz Rios and two other suspects, who are not being...

More than 50 years ago, clockmaker and shop owner Allison Rider discovered a new hobby: making chocolate candies for his friends, family and employees. Rider, a big chocolate lover, started creating treats loosely based on See's Candies flavors. He experimented with caramel and other soft-center...

SANTA CRUZ—For years, KUSP was Santa Cruz’s non-university-affliated public radio station, offering local news and extensive music and talk programming, and acting as a regional affiliate for National Public Radio.  The station went dark in 2016, but it wasn’t long before a group of citizens...

Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies search an area on the 500 block of Wheelock Road Tuesday in search of two suspects who tried to break into a home. The Sheriff's Office said that a man was interrupted trying to burglarize the home on Green...

WATSONVILLE—In a vote that was largely ceremonial, the Watsonville City Council unanimously approved giving $130,000 to the newly-formed Pajaro Valley Healthcare District to help the nonprofit purchase Watsonville Community Hospital’s operations. The contribution from the cash-strapped municipality pales in comparison with those of other jurisdictions...

WATSONVILLE—A musical duo who also teaches in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District has been selected by an international competition to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City. Amalia Diaz and Camilo Ortiz have been playing together as “Camilo y Amalia” for...

WATSONVILLE—An effort to extend a landmark Watsonville ballot measure that placed restrictions on the expansion of the city took a big step forward Tuesday. The Watsonville City Council accepted the city clerk’s certification of a petition filed by the Committee for Planned Growth and Farmland...

In alignment with the state, 11 Bay Area counties, including Monterey and Santa Cruz, and the City of Berkeley will lift universal mask requirements for most indoor public settings on Feb. 16. Unvaccinated individuals over the age of 2 will continue to be required to...

APTOS—The Cabrillo College Governing Board of Trustees has decided to cut ties with a high-ranking administrator who in December was placed on leave after being charged with embezzlement. The board made the decision in the closed session of its monthly meeting on Monday. The elected...

WATSONVILLE—After serving for 12 years as the representative of Santa Cruz County’s 4th District, Supervisor Greg Caput says that he will not seek reelection in the upcoming June primary. With a wife, two sets of adolescent twins and a 16-year-old son, Caput, now in his...