Bay Area region hits ICU capacity ‘trigger,’ more restrictions loom
Growing strain on the health care system has triggered a stricter stay-at-home order for Santa Cruz County and the rest of the Bay Area region identified in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently issued regional order.
Intensive care unit (ICU) capacity in the Bay Area region, which...
Woman dies in early morning fire at former Sobering Center
SANTA CRUZ—A woman died early Wednesday in a two-alarm fire that broke out in the former Sobering Center in Santa Cruz.
Around 2:30am 9-1-1 dispatchers received numerous calls about a fire spreading through the two-story Victorian wood structure that had been boarded up since the...
Power outage hits 63,000 county residents, quickly restored
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Approximately 63,000 people in Santa Cruz County lost power for about 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon due to a “transmission-level outage,” which refers to the system of high-tension wires that transmit power across the state, PG&E spokeswoman Karly Hernandez said.
It was not immediately...
Watsonville man sentenced to 104 years in prison for trafficking Gilroy woman
By Michael Moore, Morgan Hill Times Editor
A Watsonville man was sentenced to 104 years in prison Tuesday after being convicted of pimping, trafficking and abusing a Gilroy woman over several years, according to authorities.
Andre William Furtado, 33, was convicted by a jury in Santa...
Law enforcement prioritizing education of Stay-At-Home orders over citations
CENTRAL COAST—Most counties throughout California have now imposed some version of stay-at-home orders, which consist of a series of requests and requirements by local leaders and are designed to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Dec. 3 said that new orders keeping...
Sheriff’s Office arrests 2, seize drugs, weapons and cash
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—An Aptos man has been arrested after a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team (SET) serving a search warrant found more than 12 pounds of heroin, 1 pound of methamphetamine and a loaded handgun in his residence.
The arrest came after...
Farmworkers worked despite positive Covid-19 tests for fear of job loss, study shows
CENTRAL COAST—Many Monterey County farmworkers are going to work despite testing positive for the novel coronavirus, and some of those laborers are doing so because they are concerned about losing their job, their pay or because their employer told them to.
That’s according to the...
Watsonville man faces manslaughter charges for throwing fatal punch
WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man was arrested Dec. 9 after a man he punched during a fight died one week later.
Jose Figueroa Gonzalez, 30, is facing manslaughter charges for the Dec. 2 fight outside the Burger King restaurant on Main Street at Riverside Drive.
That night, officers...
Pedestrian killed in early morning Watsonville collision
WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man died early Tuesday morning when he was struck by a car as he walked along West Beach Street.
Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said the 42-year-old victim was walking partially in the westbound lane in front of Big Creek Lumber, 1400 W....
‘Good clean living’: Watsonville woman celebrates 101st birthday
WATSONVILLE—Gerry Kall on Friday celebrated her 101st birthday in Watsonville, the town she was born in.
Thanks to a gathering of relatives, friends, Katie Nuñez, Watsonville Senior Center’s older adult services supervisor, and a handful of folks who cheered out the window of the cars...
Santa Cruz County celebrates with parades
Thousands of people attended Fourth of July parades in Watsonville and Aptos Friday, lining sidewalks aliog main streets to see hundreds of participants. Below...
