Local News

WATSONVILLE—Mike Ciglar, a retired Watsonville Police Department officer and fixture in the local law scene for 30 years, died Oct. 15 at 62. A longtime Watsonville resident, soft-spoken and easy going, Ciglar, among other things, played a huge role in community involvement and served at...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man was arrested Dec. 9 after a man he punched during a fight died one week later. Jose Figueroa Gonzalez, 30, is facing manslaughter charges for the Dec. 2 fight outside the Burger King restaurant on Main Street at Riverside Drive. That night, officers...

I see the rail trail system is moving forward off of Ohlone Parkway. I’ve ridden my bike along a nearly complete section of the trail on the westside of Santa Cruz where it flanks the railroad track near Almar Street. It’s great. Plenty wide,...

Final concert of our 2018-19 season on April 6 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium at 7:30 pm and on April 7 at the Mello Henry J Center For Performing Arts at 2:00 pm.

Observations from around Watsonville.

WATSONVILLE—A 26-year-old Santa Cruz County man died Saturday after he was mauled by a great white shark near Manresa State Beach.  The victim has been identified as Ben Kelly, a prominent surfboard maker and a well-known figure in the surfing community. According to California State Parks...

WATSONVILLE—Current positivity rates in Santa Cruz County’s low-income and disadvantaged communities are among the worst in the state and Bay Area region, according to data reported by the California Department of Public Health. The county’s so-called “Health Equity Quartile Positivity Rate” was 22.7% on Wednesday...

WATSONVILLE—Parishioners celebrated the 150th anniversary of St Patrick’s Catholic Parish on Oct. 11 in a ceremony that drew members from across the Pajaro Valley to celebrate an institution whose community roots go back hundreds of years. The first recorded Catholic religious ceremony in the Pajaro...

WATSONVILLE—A man was shot in a housing complex off of Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville early Sunday afternoon. Watsonville Police Department Sgt. Mish Radich said police were dispatched to a report of a shooting at the Stone Creek Apartments, 300 Bree Lane, around 1pm. Officers found the...