Gutzwiller remembered for beaming smile, passion for community
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—As arrangements are being made for the memorial of Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, who was gunned down June 6 in Ben Lomond, local colleagues and fellow law enforcement personnel are gathering their thoughts about the man with the beaming...
Family dispute between teens leads to shooting, arrest
WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville teen was shot and another is in custody following a domestic dispute late Wednesday night.
Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said the two males, who are brothers, erupted in an argument around 10:20pm at a home on Evelyn Avenue near Clifford Drive...
Gunman killed by police in SLO County
PASO ROBLES—The suspect who allegedly shot and killed a man and shot a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputy early Wednesday was killed by police Thursday.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office identified the shooter as Mason James Lira, 26, a transient from the Monterey area.
Lira...
Classic ride | Photo Gallery
Do you have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as...
Pajaro Valley Arts’ annual outdoor exhibit takes shape
Pajaro Valley Arts’ 14th annual “Sculpture Is: In the Garden” exhibit will return to Sierra Azul Nursery and Gardens on July 1.
It will be the organization’s first in-person exhibit since the countywide shelter-in-place order prompted the closure of its indoor gallery on Sudden Street...
Council expands cannabis rules, implements measures to lift local, minority owners
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday night approved a slew of changes to the city’s cannabis rules.
Along with allowing three dispensaries within city limits and quadrupling the maximum square footage for cultivation, the council also implemented a so-called equity program and created a pre-application...
Local organizations celebrate Pride amidst crisis, unrest
On the morning of June 28, 1969, a group of police officers raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village, New York City. As police dragged patrons and staff out of the bar, residents responded—leading to a week of protests and violent...
Serial DUI offender sentenced to 20 years for fatal collision
SANTA CRUZ—A Watsonville man already on probation for two DUI convictions was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for striking and killing a woman while driving drunk one year ago, Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell announced.
Alejandro Rocha Fernandez, 28, was drinking...
Santa Cruz Police investigating ‘suspicious object’
UPDATE, 4:45pm: The suspicious item that caused several streets to be closed in Santa Cruz late Wednesday morning was not a threat, the Santa Cruz Police Department said.
Officers from SCPD, and the Santa Cruz County bomb team, responded to a report of a pipe...
Community calls for Watsonville’s city council to save sports programs
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville will have to make several tough cuts to meet a projected $6.5 million budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.
But more than two dozen community members defending the value of youth sports programs at Tuesday’s virtual City Council meeting urged...
Two charged for infant’s death at unlicensed daycare center
Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies on Saturday arrested two women who were allegedly running an unlicensed daycare center after a 3-month-old infant died in their...
