Local News

A motorist drives south on Highway 1 early Saturday morning where a massive eucalyptus tree crashed over McGregor Drive in Aptos and into the southbound lane of Highway 1 just after 2 a.m.

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville City Councilman Lowell Hurst has held office on and off since first being elected to the council in 1988. Typically, the seasoned politician takes fellow council members and the attendees of Watsonville City Council meetings back in time, and provides perspective on community...

More Watsonville voters have elected to extend the city’s urban growth boundaries for the next 18 years rather than head back to the drawing board and determine a new growth plan, according to initial election results released Tuesday night. As of 8:16pm, 1,788 votes had...

A March 14 executive order by President Donald Trump targeting federal funding for libraries and museums—among other things—will leave no community untouched. But the impact will vary throughout the state. Both the Santa Cruz County Public Library and the Watsonville Public Library systems receive millions...

Limited rides at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk reopened April 1 following state public health guidelines. Boardwalk rides have been closed since March 2020 due to Covid-19, although they operated for a brief time in November. Ride reservations, which have been selling out daily,...

Work has begun on the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project on Holohan Road in Watsonville.  The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PV Water) Board of Directors approved contracts to construct the project on Feb. 1.  Heavy equipment has been on the scene clearing away a...

In about two years, UC Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College officials plan to open a student housing complex that is expected to revolutionize the way local students live and attend school, and how they pay for their living space. A group of educators, elected officials...

Editor’s note: this is the final installment of our pre-election coverage, as voters mull their mail-in ballot and make their decisions. A story on Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s  Green Party opponent ran on Feb. 8. Republican challenger Jason Michael Anderson did not respond to a...

Organizers at the Santa Cruz County Fair are asking the public for ideas for a theme for the 2026 County Fair. Anyone who has a “phrase that pops” or a “rhyme that shines” is invited to submit it. “Imagine your words splashed across every poster and...