Local News

Editor’s note: This is the first entry in a monthly series about the history scattered throughout downtown Watsonville and the city at large. For the past several months I’ve been getting around town, mostly by bus and on foot. Besides being a giant change in...

Do you have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as...

WATSONVILLE—A 26-year-old Santa Cruz County man died Saturday after he was mauled by a great white shark near Manresa State Beach.  The victim has been identified as Ben Kelly, a prominent surfboard maker and a well-known figure in the surfing community. According to California State Parks...

It’ll be a few years before fans will see any action from the Cabrillo College football team.  The community college’s Board of Trustees held a special virtual meeting Tuesday evening and came to a unanimous decision to suspend football operations for at least two years. Cabrillo...

WATSONVILLE—More than 100 members of the community voiced their opinions on the possible removal of the George Washington bust from the Watsonville City Plaza at Monday’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. The public forum lasted more than three and a half hours and was littered...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County officials are mulling a plan to retool the county’s public defender’s office, transitioning from its current private delivery system to a public one. The move comes as the county’s contract with Biggam, Christensen and Minslof (BCM)—which has provided indigent criminal...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police have arrested three men suspected of participating in a carjacking on Oct. 30. Manuel Hernandez, 18, Joel Vasquez, 29, and Raul Leal, 23, face several felony charges. They were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail. Hernandez is being held in lieu of $200,000...

WATSONVILLE—Current positivity rates in Santa Cruz County’s low-income and disadvantaged communities are among the worst in the state and Bay Area region, according to data reported by the California Department of Public Health. The county’s so-called “Health Equity Quartile Positivity Rate” was 22.7% on Wednesday...

WATSONVILLE—Several new businesses are in the works around Watsonville, all forging ahead despite the looming cloud of the pandemic. A new drive-thru Starbucks in Watsonville Square, a Mexican food restaurant in the historic Mansion House, a panaderia (bakery) on East Fifth Street and a taqueria...

RIO DEL MAR—Nearly 11 months after a fire gutted the historic Seabreeze Tavern and severely weakened the structure, demolition of the building began Tuesday. The work is being conducted by a private contractor, Santa Cruz County spokesperson Jason Hoppin said. It is not clear what...