Local News

Laura Segura, whose leadership at Monarch Services topped off a lifetime of service to the community in which she grew up, and who was as known for her fierce advocacy as she was for being an athlete, artist, friend and—for a small stretch in...

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—Kaiser Permanente has awarded a $100,000 grant to Watsonville-based organization Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services. The grant aims to provide bilingual and bicultural grief support to families in Monterey County who are coping with the loss of a child or struggling with a child...

Artist Bruce Harman continues work on a new mural in Watsonville Plaza on the exterior of the new self-cleaning pair of restrooms. The artwork includes depictions of graduates, St. Patrick's Church, the Tuttle Mansion, folklorico dancers, Mexican folk art and more. City officials are...

When local conservation pioneer and philanthropist Diane Porter Cooley died last March, members of Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) knew they wanted to pay tribute to her in some way. Cooley was a founding board member of PVA and instrumental in its success over the years....

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz Police on Tuesday arrested a Watsonville man after he allegedly traveled to the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to meet who he thought was an underage girl for sex. Valentin Rodriguez, 62, was charged with meeting a minor for lewd purposes. He...

Hundreds of people, toting festive balloons and armloads of flowers, showed up for the commencement ceremony for Renaissance High School on June 2.  Led into the Mello Center by their principal, Deanna Young, the line of 61 seniors filled up the first three rows...

WATSONVILLE—After decades of efforts by local, state and federal officials, plans to rebuild the Pajaro River Levee can now move forward after voters in Watsonville approved an assessment on their annual property tax bills that will pay for the maintenance and operations costs. The Pajaro...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Measure D–which was hailed by many as a way to get Santa Cruz County residents out of their vehicles, off the roads and onto a bike-pedestrian path that replaced the rail line–was dealt a crushing blow Tuesday when it went down in...