Local News

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday arrested a Watsonville man on numerous sex charges involving a minor. Carlos Gomez Velasco, 39, has been charged with oral copulation with a minor, contacting a minor for sexual purposes, sexual battery and contributing to the delinquency of...

SCOTTS VALLEY—The California Highway Patrol has arrested two people they say shot at a CHP officer Tuesday night in Scotts Valley. Alexandria Luevanos, 41, of Berkeley, and Kristopher Payopay, 40, of Lathrop, were arrested after officers said they led them on a chase down Highway...

WATSONVILLE—The streets of Watsonville continue to get tidied up thanks to an ever-expanding group of people experiencing homelessness that bands together and hits the streets under the WatsonvilleWorks! program. Founded in September 2019 by a group of human services leaders, the program has thus far...

WATSONVILLE—A man who tried to burglarize a Watsonville residence Wednesday is in custody after a woman living there fought him off and held him there with the help of her teen children, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said in a press release. Salvador Leonor, 48,...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council granted an appeal filed by a local restaurant owner that sought to overturn a decision from Watsonville Municipal Airport management to deny a lease transfer to a new restaurateur. Airport Director Rayvon Williams in October of last year told Ella’s at...

WATSONVILLE—This Sunday the Tobera Project, a local initiative aiming to preserve and celebrate Watsonville’s Filipino history, will host a virtual film screening in commemoration of the anniversary of the 1930 Anti-Filipino Watsonville Race Riots. “A Dollar a Day, Ten Cents a Dance” is a portrait...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County has committed $5 million to help a local group of healthcare professionals purchase Watsonville Community Hospital’s operations. The County’s Board of Supervisors passed the item without comment, since it was on the consent agenda. The Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project (PVHDP)...

WATSONVILLE—Plans to build a four-story, 80-room hotel at the busy intersection of Main Street and Freedom Boulevard have once again stalled. Watsonville Community Development Department Director Suzi Merriam says that the permits granted to the developer, Kamalesh Patel, expired last fall. If the project is...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The union that represents some 1,600 County of Santa Cruz employees has averted a strike after hammering out a tentative agreement during all-day negotiations Monday. The agreement between Service Employees International Union Local 521 and the County came just before demonstrations that were...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at a special meeting on Jan. 20 narrowly advanced a new district map that would largely stick to the status quo, but make a significant change between the 2nd and 6th districts. The map, dubbed the Rivera Plan, would move areas...