Local News

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors at its Tuesday meeting unanimously approved a plan to purchase a parcel of land in Watsonville, with the hopes of one day converting it into a public park. The 38.5-acre parcel at 188 Whiting Road—located adjacent to...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) will soon celebrate its 10th anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion it has launched a fellowship to support local up-and-coming Latinx filmmakers.  The Cine Se Puede fellowship will support five emerging filmmakers from Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley...

WATSONVILLE—A 33-year-old Watsonville man died in a solo-vehicle crash just before midnight Tuesday on Riverside Road, or Highway 129. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the victim was driving a 1999 Lexus west on Riverside Road south of Lakeview Road with a 44-year-old female...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Community Hospital (WCH) has begun Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures, which officials say will provide the funding necessary to continue operating as the case commences and a local group prepares to purchase it. The case was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern...

WATSONVILLE—The city of Watsonville must pay attorney fees and court costs to a business at Watsonville Municipal Airport after losing in a civil case earlier this year, a Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge ruled Monday. In the Dec. 6 ruling, Judge Timothy Volkmann ordered...

WATSONVILLE—The newly constructed roundabout at the intersection of Highway 129 (Riverside Road) and Lakeview Road opened on Dec. 3 to through traffic. Final roadway striping and a variety of construction details will be completed over the next few weeks, but the roadway and roundabout are...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville artist Augie WK for two years has dreamt of bringing a humpback whale to life at the Marinovich Community Center. It was 2019 when the upstart muralist was approached by Watsonville Environmental Science Workshop coordinator Darren Gertler and asked if he’d be interested in...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police arrested three people over a 10-day period on suspicion of committing sex crimes against children. Daniel Alanis, 39, was arrested Dec. 2 in Salinas and charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts against a child under 14. He was booked into Santa Cruz...

While food banks act as the safety net against hunger, CalFresh (formerly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) is the first line of defense. CalFresh’s goal is to improve the health and well-being of people who qualify for the program in every community. It...

WATSONVILLE—Ella’s at the Airport opened at Watsonville Municipal Airport in 2015, and since then has garnered a large following of customers. Owner Ella King, who at the time also owned the popular Cafe Ella, took the building—closed for one year after the previous restaurant was...