Local News

When the Pippin Orchard Apartment complex at 56 Atkinson Lane was ready for occupancy in the fall, nearly 2,500 families applied, hoping to snag one of the 46 units.

The students at Mintie White Elementary School spent the past two weeks performing acts of kindness for their friends and family. They then wrote each of these acts upon a strip of paper, which became the link in a chain in their classrooms.

On Thursday I drove by the new Starbucks on Lee Road which is still under construction, as is the towering Hampton Inn & Suites behind it. The new Starbucks, with a drive-thru, will mark the fifth Starbucks in Watsonville. The coffee chain started in...

The 12th annual Watsonville Film Festival will showcase a collection of films that organizers say challenge stereotypes while highlighting the diversity in the Latinx experience, from lowrider car culture to an indigenous soprano singer from Oaxaca, Mexico. “This Festival was created to counter Hollywood’s often...

WATSONVILLE—A Greenfield Police officer was arrested early Thursday on charges of domestic violence. Christian Tapia, 27, was arrested at 8:03am and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail by the Watsonville Police Department on domestic violence-related charges that officers believe happened in Watsonville. The Greenfield Police Department...

ROYAL OAKS — A 47-year-old Salinas man died late Friday night in Royal Oaks after his vehicle struck a tree. California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Jessica Madueño said the man, who has not been named, was traveling westbound on San Miguel Canyon Road west...

WATSONVILLE—Two men were shot five hours apart in reportedly unrelated incidents on the outskirts of Watsonville on June 23, and multiple suspects remain at large. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn on June 24 said deputies are searching for 47-year-old Edgar Ayala, the...

A Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge ruled Tuesday that there is enough evidence that the man who raped and killed 8-year-old Madyson (Maddy) Middleton in 2015 would pose a continued danger to the public if he is released. Adrian Jerry (A.J.) Gonzalez, now 24,...

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Ariadne Symons on Monday announced she will retire from the bench at the conclusion of her current term in 2020. Symons issued a press release outlining her nearly four-decade career. “Serving for more than a decade on the bench...

WATSONVILLE—A new bakery that offers a dazzling and colorful line of pastries, cakes, fancy cookies, cupcakes and more has recently opened in downtown Watsonville. Ricarmi Panaderia y Pasteleria at 11 East Fifth St. is the realization of a longtime dream for Ricardo Lopez and Armida...