Local News

The other day I saw someone had dressed up the surfer statue on the westside of Santa Cruz as a firefighter. I imagine it's some form of acknowledgement of the hard work firefighters are doing in battling our wild land blazes. • Maybe desperation has hit...

WATSONVILLE—Keeping area streets and sidewalks tidy has become more of a chore since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.  An uptick in disposable rubber gloves and all types of masks dumped on the streets has been commonplace since early March. And they’re building up. These items,...

Smoke. Ugh! These awful fires have been going on since Aug. 16. Now they have a grip on California, Oregon and Washington — the entire west coast. From what I understand, most of the smoke drifting over the Central Coast is from the Creek...

A stretch of road alongside Highway 101 could soon be home to a tunnel complex turned wildlife crossing under the busy highway. The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County announced Sept. 9 that it has agreed to purchase the 2,640-acre Rocks Ranch in Aromas at...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz Police Department is investigating after a man was stabbed to death early Sunday morning in Santa Cruz, police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said. Officers were dispatched to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon in the area of Depot Park...

SAN JOSE—A former executive at an international Watsonville berry giant was sentenced Thursday to more than two years in federal prison for embezzlement, United States Attorney David Anderson announced. Marc Marier, 42, was sentenced to 29 months in prison and ordered to pay more than...

Bagpiper Kasie Talbot set the tone for the start of an annual ceremony in Aptos Friday to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.  Personnel, staff, family and friends from Aptos/La Selva Fire, Watsonville Fire, Central Fire, Capitola Police...

APTOS—More than 50 firefighters from agencies across Santa Cruz County gathered in Aptos Friday morning to commemorate the 19th year since the 9/11 attacks. Using two ladder trucks, the firefighters hoisted a giant flag into the air, and then read the names of their 343...

WATSONVILLE—With distance learning likely to last through the rest of 2020—and possibly extend through June—the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday tentatively approved the district’s Learning Continuity Plan, a 16-page document that seeks to standardize education for the district’s 19,685...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville singer-songwriter Kabwasa will celebrate a major milestone in his career on Sept. 16 by releasing his first full-length studio album, “Maiden Flight.” Born Etienne Kabwasa Green, Kabwasa now lives in Los Angeles, where he made waves in the hip-hop scene even before graduating from...