Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY —Strawberries remain the county’s biggest crop, with an estimated value of $220,653,000 on approximately 2,578 planted acres. That’s according to the 2018 crop report released Thursday by Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo. The report showed an overall production value of more...

WATSONVILLE—An alleged Watsonville gang member was arrested Thursday, and a handgun was taken off the street following the service of a search warrant. Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said officers from the Special Investigations Unit arrested Rigoberto Lopez, 28, for being a felon in possession...

WATSONVILLE—Hours after school officials warned that a challenge posted on the social media site TikTok could prompt young people to call in fake bomb and gun threats to their schools, a school in Watsonville received just such a threat. An anonymous message dated Dec. 17...

WATSONVILLE—The second annual Holiday Lights drive-thru light show at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds is now fully lit up and open to visitors. Holiday Lights will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday through November, and Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December through Dec. 26. Presented...

PAJARO—A 69-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of molesting at least two girls.  The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office arrested Crescenciano Figueroa, Jr., of Pajaro, on charges of child molestation. Figueroa, known by many in the community as “Chano,” was taken into custody on Fremont...

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...

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...

Event is the nonprofit organization's biggest fundraiser of the year.

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...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved “Watsonville Brillante,” an ambitious project that will cover the entire exterior of the Civic Plaza parking garage with mosaic over a period of five years.