Local News

WATSONVILLE—Santa Claus will be making an early appearance in Watsonville this week, visiting neighborhoods to spread some holiday cheer. The second annual Santa Tour, which began last year during the height of the pandemic, kicks off tonight and will make its way through more neighborhoods...

WATSONVILLE—“The Apple King,” a novel inspired by Watsonville’s Croatian community and its historic role in the region’s apple industry, recently won the Connecticut Author Project Award and will be featured in an issue of the national Library Journal publication. Author Barbara Anne King was born...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution to send a letter to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission demanding it not split Watsonville from its fellow Santa Cruz County cities in the upcoming congressional redistricting. The letter, penned by outgoing Mayor Jimmy Dutra,...

In a unanimous decision, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) approved Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s (PV Water) water right application for the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project. The approval, coming nearly four years after application submittal, means that PV Water will have...

WATSONVILLE—About two dozen organizers packed into the Watsonville civic offices on Monday afternoon to turn in the signatures needed to put an extension of a landmark ballot measure before Watsonville voters next year. Measure U, approved by voters in 2002, put restrictions on where, when...

WATSONVILLE—A large gathering of people celebrated the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe the Virgin Mary Sunday at Pinto Lake County Park. Based on Catholic tradition, the virgin appeared to a young boy, Juan Diego, in Mexico in 1531. Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe...

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, tree farms across the nation are thrust into the spotlight and sellers start their busiest time of year. This year, the industry is holding steady, despite a nationwide shortage that is pushing up prices. Heatwaves and fires that...

A high-ranking administrator at Cabrillo College has been charged with embezzlement by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Paul De La Cerda, the current Vice President of Instruction at Cabrillo, faces one felony count of misappropriation of government funds, and another felony count of...

WATSONVILLE—Less than a week after crews began construction of a new restroom in the City Plaza, the city of Watsonville was awarded a $3.5 million grant from State Parks to renovate the entire historic downtown park. The grant was announced Wednesday evening as part of...

WATSONVILLE—Vanessa Quiroz-Carter leads Frank Barba in the race for the vacant District 2 Watsonville City Council seat. Unofficial results released by the Santa Cruz County elections department at 8:57pm on Tuesday night showed Quiroz-Carter had a 59-vote lead on Barba.  Only 339 votes had been counted...