Local News

"Try This" is a weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like. • Tarmo Hannula Drink: Hotel Paradox cocktails Seeds of Time is a cocktail served at Hotel Paradox, 611 Ocean St., in Santa Cruz. The drink includes Maker’s Mark...

Cabrillo College’s Board of Trustees on Monday appointed Francisco “Paco” Estrada to fill the Trustee Area V seat. The seat—which includes the City of Watsonville and the southern portion of Freedom—was left vacant last month when former trustee Manuel Bersamin died. Watsonville Mayor Maria Orozco swore...

Watsonville Police search a Chevy Impala on Front Street just before 10 a.m. Monday after taking a man into custody when he failed to stop for them.

At Jim Booth Swim School, kids as young as 4 months spend time in the water, building the skills to become strong swimmers under the guidance of certified instructors. Three-time Olympian swimmer Nicolas Nilo Oliveira didn’t get that opportunity. Oliveira grew up in Belo Horizonte, Brazil,...

WATSONVILLE—Residents flocked to the corner of Beach and Walker streets this weekend to experience an electric light rail streetcar that could one day be implemented in Santa Cruz County. Coast Futura (CF), an alliance of people from various county organizations, scheduled the demonstration with Roaring...

In a brief special meeting on  Dec. 27, three Santa Cruz County Supervisors declared a local emergency, which will allow officials to request state and federal assistance for the damages from the heavy surf, winds and storm surge on Dec. 23 and 24. The waves...

WATSONVILLE—An effort to extend a landmark Watsonville ballot measure that placed restrictions on the expansion of the city took a big step forward Tuesday. The Watsonville City Council accepted the city clerk’s certification of a petition filed by the Committee for Planned Growth and Farmland...

For 15 years, city leaders have been looking for ways to re-envision the Capitola Mall, which like many of its shopping-center brethren across the U.S., has lost a measure of the luster it had a few decades ago, the neon-colored heyday of the 80s. And...

Work continues on the new Rail Trail system, a network of bike and pedestrian paths along the old train rail that will eventually connect Watsonville to Davenport. • Today is Veteran’s Day. Due to the coronavirus, like just about everything else in today’s world (especially special...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The new year has brought with it larger-than-average absence rates as students throughout Santa Cruz County return to in-person instruction.  Since Jan. 6, there have been 1,387 positive Covid-19 cases out of roughly 16,000 teachers and students tested, a positivity rate of around...