Local News

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Chief Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios told the Board of Supervisors Monday that it should spend $20 million in reserves to fill a deficit for the 2019-20 fiscal year caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. That move will be a sizable slice of...

Fireworks stands are now popping up around Watsonville in preparation for Fourth of July celebrations. • Summer officially started Saturday with the summer solstice. I still marvel that the folks as long as 5,000 years ago knew about the solstice when they started the massive Stonehenge...

WATSONVILLE—What was anticipated to be a fight to save the city’s youth sports programs on Tuesday instead turned into a community call to slice into Watsonville Police Department’s $21 million budget in order to fund youth enrichment programs and social services. The Watsonville City Council...

WATSONVILLE—Every year on the outskirts of Watsonville, late summer brings the intoxicating aroma of fried food, along with the sweet summer cacophony of carnival rides, livestock and giant, jubilant crowds. But those voices will fall silent this year at the Santa Cruz County Fair, after...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Public Library continues to maintain a host of services, from online classes and movie streaming, to book checkouts during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. Though the Freedom Branch is closed, its inventory is still obtainable, either online or through curbside pickup at the...

I covered a fire Saturday night in Santa Cruz where flames tore through the roof of an occupied shed. By the time firefighters arrived at the home, at the corner of San Juan Avenue at Roxas Street just before 9pm, flames were gushing about...

SAN FRANCISCO—The Ben Lomond man accused of killing two law enforcement officials—and trying to kill two others—in Santa Cruz County and the City of Oakland, made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday. Steven Carrillo did not enter a plea during the short hearing in...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County on Monday saw its largest single-day jump (20) in Covid-19 cases since the virus started its spread along the Central Coast in early March. The case spike increases the county’s active cases to 100, and raises its total case count...

Friday was Juneteenth, a day celebrated with events around the country, including a peaceful march in Santa Cruz to commemorate the historic day. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Senator Elizabeth Warren stacked up the right...

SALINAS—A Watsonville man who seriously injured a woman in a DUI crash nearly one year ago was sentenced Thursday to more than five years in state prison, Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Merideth Sillman said. Noel Ledesma, 39, is in custody in Monterey County Jail.  He...