Local News

A Bombardier Global Express 600 corporate jet sits on the tarmac at Watsonville Municipal Airport on May 21. Airplane aficionados said it is the largest aircraft to land at the airport since 2007 when a C-17 military transport jet touched down during an air...

For 20 years the Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) has been celebrating bicycles through art, film and music. Originating in New York, it has popped up in 100 cities across the globe, from Paris and Tokyo to Istanbul and Mexico City. And now the festival is...

The Save Our Shores (SOS) organization is encouraging everyone who visits local beaches this Memorial Day Weekend to be an “Ocean Hero.” The environmental nonprofit asks visitors to leave beaches with all the items they brought with them, including trash.  SOS recommends to: 1) Bring...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man was arrested late Tuesday night after he was caught burglarizing a business on Airport Boulevard. Gabriel Soto-Gonzalez, 41, was charged with burglary, vehicle theft and providing false ID to police. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $25,000...

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,...