Local News

Photo by Tarmo Hannula of The Pajaronian - An early-morning fire tore through a home at 41 San Juan Road in Pajaro Wednesday. North Monterey County Fire Division Chief Jess Cortez said no-one was injured in the blaze at the corner of Gonda Street....

APTOS—Cabrillo College President Matt Wetstein in a March 31 email thanked voters who supported Measure R, which would have funded construction and infrastructure projects at the college’s Aptos and Watsonville campuses.  The $274 million bond measure would have placed about $20 per $100,000 on the...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville will have to make several tough cuts to meet a projected $6.5 million budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.  But more than two dozen community members defending the value of youth sports programs at Tuesday’s virtual City Council meeting urged...

The Watsonville High School Foundation on May 12 honored this year’s inductees into the school’s Hall of Fame. The awards ceremony was launched in 1986 as a way to showcase the achievements of Wildcatz alumni. This year’s honorees are Charles Johnston, who graduated in 1961, and...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a new interactive budget website that allows community members to check up on the complex inner workings of the county’s finances, roughly one month before the board begins its annual budget hearings. The...

Every day, roughly 100,000 vehicles travel along Highway 1 through Santa Cruz County, a staggering number that is evidenced by daily rush-hour backups that can last for hours. That’s to say nothing of the often packed surface roads. That contributes to air pollution and global warming,...

A young great white shark died after it washed ashore Friday at Pleasure Point in Capitola.

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police are warning the public to be on the lookout for holiday package thieves, and are suggesting a few simple safeguards to stop theft. The issue came to the forefront this holiday season when a resident recorded a daylight burglary from her Watsonville residence...

SANTA CRUZ—A Santa Cruz woman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of using social media to sell vape products and alcohol to minors. Martha Espinoza, 41, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail, but was not in custody on Thursday morning, jail records showed. The Santa Cruz...

The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday night meeting solidified its decision to implement a new fee on development projects that would fund the arts in Watsonville. Soon, developers seeking to create commercial and residential projects will have to pay 0.75% of their project’s valuation,...