Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Watsonville Public Library, along with Hospice Santa Cruz County (HSCC), will be hosting a virtual book discussion on Zoom on Nov. 5 at 5:30pm. The event will be centered around author Katy Butler’s “The Art of Dying Well,” a nonfiction book published...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office released the names of the two men who were shot and killed on Saturday in Watsonville in separate shooting incidents. The first victim, who was shot near Marchant and E. Front streets around 5:30pm, has been identified as Rafael Salcedo,...

I stopped by the pumpkin patch on Soquel Drive just south of Dominican Hospital recently. They were offering tractor pull rides as part of all the fun. • Election Day is a week away and the ads keep piling up. I’ve seen Yes and No on...

WATSONVILLE—Two local institutions will vie for control of the historic Porter Building, a City of Watsonville-owned property at the gateway of downtown, at tonight’s Watsonville City Council meeting.  Pajaro Valley Arts and WatsNews LLC, the owner of the Pajaronian, will present their respective plans for...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—California health officials on Tuesday moved Santa Cruz County into the less restrictive “Moderate” or Orange tier, meaning that several businesses can reopen and welcome in more customers. The move means that the county is seeing 1-3.9 new cases per 100,00 in population....

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department and the County of Santa Cruz will host a Drive-Thru Trunk-or-Treat event Friday between 4:30-7:30pm, or until supplies last. Families are invited to drive their vehicles through Ramsay Park, 1301 Main St., starting at the Main...

APTOS—Plans are moving forward with the Aptos Branch Library project to raze the existing 8,000-square-foot building near the corner of State Park and Soquel drives, and build a 12,400-square-foot replacement. While the wrecking ball is not expected to swing loose until next summer, strides have...

I noticed a crew from Northwest Signs taking down the long-standing sign on Wendy's on Freedom Boulevard Monday to make way for an updated sign. While CEO Emil Brolick said the existing logo had served the company well for the past three decades, he...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—With just one week until election day, Santa Cruz County voters still have plenty of options of what to do with their completed ballot. It’s important to know that it is not necessary to mark every section. Leaving an option blank—or even marking...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police on Monday said that three separate shootings that occurred Saturday night—which left two people dead—were not related. Two of them, however, are likely gang-related, WPD spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. The first shooting, which police believe is gang-related, occurred in the area of Marchant...