Local News

WATSONVILLE—The addition of around 4,000 new housing units over the course of 25 years. Two-way traffic on Lake and Beach streets. A completely reimagined industrial district on Walker Street. A network of pedestrian “paseos” that provides safe walking paths. The reduction of one lane...

Watsonville firefighters tear into a wall at the rear of a home on the 600 block of Lincoln Street Tuesday where a fire broke out. Division Chief Corey Schaefer said the fire erupted just past noon inside the wood walls of an older single-story...

The Spirit of Watsonville Fourth of July Parade and the Aptos Parade, also known as the World's Shortest Parade, returned this year.

Work continues on a new business complex on the 1000 block of Main Street under the direction of the Santa Cruz Seaside Co. Construction is expected to wrap up by the end of the year, with businesses Chipotle, The Habit Burger Grill, Charter Spectrum,...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) will host a one-day conference on July 9 centered around the figure Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Attendees will explore the historic and cultural impact of the figure through readings, discussions and workshops. Speakers include Seattle University professor Jeanette Rodriguez, who will discuss...

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County’s Fourth of July celebration frequently features fireworks, and sales begin today at 20 locations throughout the City of Watsonville for the “safe-and-sane” variety. These are allowed to be used only in the cities of Capitola and Watsonville. The problem, law enforcement and fire...

WATSONVILLE—In a special meeting as unpredictable as it was tense, Watsonville City Council could not come to a consensus on a deal that would have made a minor alteration to a critical ballot measure for the Nov. 8 election. The elected leaders on Thursday neither...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has identified the second man that died in a head-on crash on Highway 129 on June 22 as Nestor Emmanuel Beltran Quiroa, 20, of Los Banos. Quiroa, one of three passengers in a 2008 Honda Ridgeline pickup, died at...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—As the statewide eviction moratorium expires on June 30, many renters with past due bills as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic are still waiting for financial help which, unless they take action, might never come. Across Santa Cruz County, some 2,666 people...

WATSONVILLE—Thirteen area youths graduated from the Watsonville Fire Department’s summer Youth Academy on June 23. As a part of the two-week program, which was mothballed for the past two years due to the pandemic, the teens learned the ins and outs of firefighting and the...