Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The seventh annual Santa Cruz Gives holiday crowdfunding campaign raised more than $1 million for local nonprofit organizations in 2021. The milestone was reached after the campaign doubled in size, featuring 80 nonprofits on its online platform. Individual donors, matching funds, challenge gifts...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Women in Leadership for Diverse Representation (WILDR) will host a series of free virtual forums aiming to inspire and encourage women to serve in positions of leadership in Santa Cruz County. WILDR was formed last year by Dorian Seamster, who brought together a...

WATSONVILLE—A man was shot in a brazen daylight attack on Madison Street on New Year’s Eve. Watsonville Police Department Sgt. Henry Robles said the suspect, a man in his early 20s wearing black clothing, shot the male victim on the street around 4:30pm near the...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County public health officials are asking that anyone with asymptomatic or mild coronavirus cases—or other non-serious illnesses—stay home and avoid unnecessary trips to already burdened hospital emergency departments. The county also renewed its call for everyone eligible to get vaccinated or...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville residents will have a new representative at the federal level after the June primary following a massive political shift in the recent decennial redistricting process completed last month. Formerly included in the 20th Congressional District with the rest of the Central Coast, Watsonville will...

Emergency officials pull the driver out of a Honda Civic on Hecker Pass Tuesday. The California Highway Patrol said the male driver and a male passenger were traveling east on Hecker Pass Road (Hwy 152) at 2:45pm when the driver lost control. The Honda...

WATSONVILLE—The Monterey Bay Rose Society (MBRS) will once again be holding its annual series of free rose pruning classes at various locations across the region. Things kick off Saturday at 10:30am at the Display Rose Garden at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—As students prepare to return to school on Jan. 4, districts across the county are offering families a tool to test their children for Covid-19 before they return. While not required for return to class, the tests are “highly recommended,”  Soquel Union Elementary...

CENTRAL COAST—Winter started Dec. 21 and colder, wet weather came through the door with it. A series of storms have dumped heavy rains across the Central Coast and record-breaking snow in the Sierra Nevada. Just weeks ago warnings of severe drought and water rationing were...

WATSONVILLE—A new 50-by-54-foot colorful outdoor mural of a humpback whale was recently completed at Marinovich Community Center on Second Street. Painted on the blacktop of the basketball court, work began on Oct. 25 by Watsonville artists Augie WK and Jessica Carmen. “Once we were done and...