Local News

The 2020 U.S. Election saw a record turnout, with more Americans voting than in any election in more than a century. And with the high number of voters came plenty of landmark wins—including for LGBTQ candidates in all levels of government. LGBTQ representation in Congress...

Tarmo Hannula: Genaro Garcia Luna, Mexico’s former public security secretary, the very man who brazenly took on Mexico’s chief drug traffickers, has now been arrested and charged with taking millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa cartel, the New York Times reported. His...

WATSONVILLE—Yocelyn Gonzalez, a senior at Pajaro Valley High School, shadowed outgoing Watsonville Mayor Francisco “Paco” Estrada and recently seated Mayor Rebecca Garcia on Wednesday after winning the Mayor for the Day essay contest earlier this month. Gonzalez followed the two leaders from 9 a.m. to...

Alejandro Lopez, a Watsonville resident and Santa Cruz Breakers Academy alumnus, died late Monday night at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, according to the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office.

For five days last week, Watsonville Police Department officers joined police, firefighters and medical professionals from around the county—and beyond—in active shooter training, running through policies and live scenarios at the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District tri-campus in Felton. Sgt. Mish Radich, who headed...

A decade after Scotts Valley was split in two by redistricting, that city could be “reunified” under a proposal introduced to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. The proposal is among several recommendations the board is considering as the county redraws its supervisorial...

I looked through the window of the Watsonville High School cafeteria the other day to check on the huge renovation going on. A crew was there installing new floor tiles, a fraction of the overall job. It looked great. New modern lights, a high...

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

Willie Yahiro was a Watsonville High School graduate whose love for his community inspired him to make his life and career here. He spent nearly three decades as a Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee and ran his successful eponymous insurance company for years. Yahiro...

Xipetotec Galindo helps his daughter, Coral Gonzalez, 3, apply paint to a large outdoor mural on the walls of La Manzana on West Lake Avenue in Watsonville. Watsonville artist Yermo Aranda, who originally created the mural, has been working with community members in restoring the mural. The...