Local News

SAN JOSE—Nine people were killed by gunfire and the gunman killed himself following a mass shooting early Wednesday morning at the Valley Transportation Authority yard in San Jose. At 6:34am, the suspect, Samuel Cassidy, 57, opened fire at the VTA light rail yard in San...

WATSONVILLE—Since 2017, Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) has partnered with nonprofit El Sistema Santa Cruz/Pajaro Valley to bring music education and performance to local students. During the pandemic, El Sistema has continued its work both virtually and in-person, with small cohorts of students signed...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday virtual meeting approved utility rate increases that will raise a typical single-family household’s bill by about $40 per month by 2026. The increases were recommended through a rate study conducted by consultant Raftelis Financial Inc. that said they...

WATSONVILLE—Federal, state and local officials gathered at Atri Park in Watsonville Monday at a public ceremony to sign a design agreement for the Pajaro River Flood Management Project.  The long-awaited $400 million effort is designed to reduce flood risk for the “disadvantaged” communities of Pajaro...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville City Manager Matt Huffaker announced last week that he appointed Alicia Martinez as the new director of the Watsonville Public Library. She succeeds longtime director Carol Heitzig, who retired in July 2020. Martinez worked her way up the ranks at the library. She started...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) Board of Directors at its May 21 virtual meeting unanimously approved a contract extension with CEO and General Manager Alex Clifford that will keep him at the head of the transportation agency through May 6,...

WATSONVILLE—In the days after California began to offer Covid-19 vaccines for children 12 and older, thousands across the state lined up for their turn. In Santa Cruz County, a total of 1,200 young people got their vaccines at Scotts Valley High School, Dominican Hospital’s Employee...

WATSONVILLE—A project seven years in the making, the 112-room Hampton Inn & Suites opened its doors Monday morning on Lee Road in Watsonville. The four-story hotel flanks a new Starbucks coffee house and a newly opened Arco gas station and AM/PM mini market, all under...

SANTA CRUZ—An Aptos woman who stabbed her husband to death during a domestic fight in 2019 pleaded guilty in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on May 18 to involuntary manslaughter. Amanda Owens also admitted to using a deadly weapon during the crime. She is set to...

WATSONVILLE—Members of Santa Cruz County’s Auto Theft Reductions Enforcement (SCARE) Task Force seized 1,120 pounds of illegal fireworks recently.  The Sheriff’s Office said an investigation led to the arrest of 30-year-old Edgar Narez on Green Valley Road for possession of illegal aerial fireworks. “With the extreme...