Local News

APTOS—The family of the 17-year-old boy who was stabbed to death on the Aptos High School campus in August has filed a claim against Pajaro Valley Unified School District, alleging that the district was negligent in ending the School Resource Officer (SRO) program, and...

WATSONVILLE—When the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League was given the green light to allow the cross country season to proceed, most coaches and students figured they’d get to at least one or two meets, at the most.  Six weeks later and with no reported Covid-19...

Limited rides at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk reopened April 1 following state public health guidelines. Boardwalk rides have been closed since March 2020 due to Covid-19, although they operated for a brief time in November. Ride reservations, which have been selling out daily,...

UPDATE (Aug. 21, 6:33am) Firefighters and law enforcement officers were pulled away for three separate rescue incidents to save residents who were trying to protect their homes from the CZU August Lightning Complex fires, which have now charred 50,000 acres, or roughly 78 square miles,...

WATSONVILLE—One person was injured and roughly 88 people were displaced in a two-alarm structure fire that broke out at the Wall Street Inn in downtown Watsonville today shortly after 1pm. Rosa Meyer, administrative analyst for the Watsonville Fire Department, said that firefighters were able to...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville High School community last year was shaken when a beloved three-decades old mural on the wall of the school’s cafeteria was painted over during a construction project. The move, directed by site administration and the district facilities department, outraged the artists involved in...

UPDATE (12:57am, 10/25) Watsonville police say a third man was shot before midnight Saturday on Blackbird Circle behind Ramsay Park—a short walk from the scene of the night’s second homicide. The victim was in critical condition, Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. It is unclear if...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday meeting approved new district boundaries that feature only a handful of differences from the borders that were in place during the last decade. Every decade following the release of census data, jurisdictions must adjust their district lines to...

A crew from Watsonville Public Works & Utilities installs new self-cleaning restrooms on the Union Street side of the City Plaza Wednesday. The long-awaited restrooms were delivered Tuesday morning. They will feature two stalls and are expected to be completed and open to the...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council unanimously approved the use of roughly $2.5 million to offset increased budgetary demands in various departments and special funds, some of which city staff says are fueled by surging inflation on everyday goods. The largest budget allocation approved by the elected...