Local News

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team (SCCACT) on Thursday arrested a 24-year-old woman at her Watsonville residence after they found several firearms, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Samantha Sanchez, 24, is on parole and is prohibited from owning either. Sanchez is a known gang...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council is at last expected to make a decision on the future of the George Washington statue that currently inhabits the City Plaza. A hot-button issue since the death of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked national social unrest, the fight over...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council has called a special meeting to consider a temporary moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent by tenants impacted by COVID-19. The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at the City Council Chambers in the Watsonville Civic Plaza. The urgency...

Editor's note: This story was updated from a previous version. WATSONVILLE—A fire at an apartment complex on Clifford Avenue late Christmas Eve displaced 20 people and severely damaged four adjoining units, Watsonville Fire Battalion Chief Kirt Vojvoda said. According to Vojvoda, the blaze began at about...

Since June, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees has been considering a plan to retool its Visual and Performing Arts program at its 16 elementary schools, a proposal that includes splitting art teachers between most schools. The shift would be part of...

CENTRAL COAST—Monterey and Santa Cruz counties were reporting the highest Covid-19 positivity rates in the Bay Area region Friday, according to data reported by the California Department of Public Health. The positivity rate in Monterey County was 23.2%. In Santa Cruz County it was 18.5%,...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Every spring, Cabrillo Gallery’s Student Exhibition highlights the work being done within the college’s art departments. Teachers and classmates choose who will be featured in the show, which is meant as a send-off at the end of the school year. But with the...

WATSONVILLE—Mike Ciglar, a retired Watsonville Police Department officer and fixture in the local law scene for 30 years, died Oct. 15 at 62. A longtime Watsonville resident, soft-spoken and easy going, Ciglar, among other things, played a huge role in community involvement and served at...

WATSONVILLE—This Friday the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) will present its Fifth Annual Día de Muertos celebration at Watsonville City Plaza.  The event will feature a screening of the Disney/Pixar animated movie “Coco,” as well as music, dance and artwork inspired by the traditional Mexican holiday,...

City and county officials teamed up with community volunteers Thursday morning on a two-hour trash roundup along Westridge Drive as part of ongoing community clean-up efforts by the office of Supervisor Felipe Hernandez. Armed with trash pinchers, buckets and bags, about two dozen people, including...