Local News

A large portion of the Coastal Rail Trail project is at risk after the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday failed to approve staff recommendations to move forward with the work. While the supervisors did approve the environmental impact report after an hours-long...

WATSONVILLE—Work is now complete on a pedestrian, bike and traffic safety project on Harkins Slough Road.  The job, which is part of a city-wide project to address transportation safety issues, runs between South Green Valley Road and Ford Street and includes a swath of Walker...

WATSONVILLE—In December, the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) Board of Directors approved a $1.2 million water conservation program aimed at further bolstering the efforts already in place by farmers. PVWMA is partnering with the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County (RCD) and the...

A drive-thru pizza giveaway will be held at 7-Eleven, 1461 Main St., Watsonville, on Christmas Eve at 11am. At least 500 full sized, uncooked pepperoni pizzas will be ordered for the drive-thru, plus another 60 for employees and about 140 for customers at other 7-Elevens.  The...

SANTA CRUZ—Medical Professionals working for the Santa Cruz County Health Department—which has been grappling with low supplies of Personal Protective Equipment due to the Covid-19 epidemic—got a boost Monday with a donation from the Pajaro Valley Quilt Association (PVQA). Volunteers from that organization—45 in all,...

After opening three offices in Santa Cruz County in 2017, Kaiser Permanente announced Monday that it will offer Medicare coverage in 2019.

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Police Department is asking for help from the community in finding a driver who fled after running over a man on Saturday night. According to WPD spokeswoman Michelle Pulido, the 59-year-old victim was hit at 9:16pm on East Lake Avenue between Lincoln and...

When Vanessa Quiroz-Carter and Maria Orozco were sworn in Tuesday as Watsonville’s mayor and vice mayor, it marked the second time in the city’s history that women held both top spots. The last time was in 2019, when Rebecca Garcia and Trina Coffman-Gomez served in...

WATSONVILLE—It has been three decades since Gabino Torres and Anna Martinez opened a small Mexican seafood restaurant on Main Street, a business they launched as a way to pair their love of their native cuisine with a drive to support their family. La Perla del...

Downtown Watsonville has always boasted strong multicultural roots and a rich community of artists, small businesses and residents that care deeply about their community. Now, the state of California does, too. The California Arts Council has named downtown Watsonville one of the state’s newest officially designated...