Local News

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...

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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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

WATSONVILLE—Restaurants and retail stores in city limits can now operate outdoors thanks to an emergency order signed by City Manager Matt Huffaker on Friday. Businesses looking to take advantage of the alfresco option would need to receive approval of a Temporary Covid-19 Encroachment Agreement from...

As a member of the elite Air Mobility Command 60th security forces—a unit also known as the Phoenix Raven Team—Steven Carrillo was the U.S. Air Force’s version of a Military Police officer. For a time, one of Carrillo’s jobs was to issue weapons at the...