Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County has moved to the “Widespread,” or Purple, tier of state’s Covid-19 reopening plan, which carries with it the most serious restrictions on businesses and services, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a lunchtime press conference Monday. The increased restrictions mean that...

APTOS—An Aptos man died on Nov. 11 from injuries he suffered in a two-car crash on Nov. 5 on Freedom Boulevard. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the 69-year-old victim was traveling north on Freedom Boulevard south of Valencia Road in a 2010 Dodge...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—O’Neill Sea Odyssey (OSO), a local nonprofit which usually hosts hundreds of schoolchildren per year on its 65-foot catamaran on the Monterey Bay, has switched gears to bring education into people’s homes. On Nov. 19, the organization will co-host a virtual event along...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Just as he did with the 2016 presidential election, President Donald Trump is making accusations of a rigged and fraudulent election in 2020.  But how easy is it to “steal” an election? Ask Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin. She’s been the head of...

WATSONVILLE—In a historic move at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the City of Watsonville officially apologized to the local Filipino community for the 1930 anti-Filipino race riots, which ended in the death of one man and ignited unrest across California.  It did so in a resolution...

WATSONVILLE—Two men accused of stealing an SUV were arrested Monday after an off-duty Watsonville Police officer spotted the pair casing vehicles in a neighborhood off of Lighthouse Drive. Christian Torres, 18, and Jesus Torres, 19, face charges for vehicle theft, petty theft, and for obstructing...

WATSONVILLE—Two local organizations are hoping to shine a brilliant holiday light during troubling times. The Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation and the Agricultural History Project are in the midst of crafting the first-ever Holiday Lights Drive-Thru event as an alternative celebration for the holiday season...

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WATSONVILLE—Second Harvest Food Bank volunteer Paul Garcia knows the importance of giving back to his community. “I was a heroin addict for many years… I tore this town up,” he said. “So now I’m giving back.” Garcia has been a volunteer for Second Harvest for 11...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—After nearly three decades running the county’s elections department, Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin will retire at the end of the year. Pellerin made the announcement Thursday, a little more than a week after what many are calling the most significant election...