Local News

WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Police is asking for help in identifying a man who was caught on camera vandalizing St. Patrick’s Church on Tuesday afternoon. Surveillance footage shows the suspect walking toward the front doors of the church with a spray paint can in hand. About 15...

WATSONVILLE—On Saturday the Watsonville Buddhist Temple will host a special benefit concert featuring Otonowa, a jazz-fusion ensemble led by world-renowned percussionist Akira Tana. In 2012 Otonowa, which translates to “sound circle,” began playing shows to raise money for survivors of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami...

WATSONVILLE—Alternative lenders outnumber mainstream lenders by more than 3-1 in Watsonville. That’s according to a joint report from Santa Cruz Community Ventures (SCCV) and UC Santa Cruz’s Blum Center presented to the public in Watsonville’s Civic Plaza on Tuesday. The report, called “Mamas con Mas,” identified...

WATSONVILLE—A new coffee shop has opened on Aviation Way, rounding out the Watsonville Hangar business complex that has been growing steadily the past couple of years. Honeylux Coffee is a specialty coffeehouse offering its own signature blend of java, as well as espresso drinks, teas,...

Hundreds attended the annual Guelaguetza celebration in San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz on Sunday.

SANTA CRUZ—A Santa Cruz man who shot a male victim to death in 2018 was sentenced on Oct. 6 to 35 years to life in state prison. Miguel Castañeda, 43, was convicted in May of killing Victor Vasquez Lopez, 36, of Santa Cruz.  The dispute that...

Legal advocates are warning the public about a multistate scam targeting the immigrant community, with some victims losing as much as $30,000. According to Claudia Abasto Rivilla, founder and executive director of Salinas-based Latin Advocacy Network (LATINAN), scammers target Spanish- and Indigenous-language speakers using information...

The Watsonville Police Department has launched a program to help them connect with a population of people who are often reluctant to call them for help.

In celebration of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History’s (MAH) 25th anniversary, the RedBall Project, a global art installation that has been to over 30 cities since 2001, is coming to Santa Cruz County. And now, after a countywide search by MAH staff...