Local News

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Rapper and songwriter Kabwassa has released a new single entitled “In My Head.”  Born and raised in Watsonville, Kabwassa now lives in Los Angeles and has steadily gained a following in California. Much of his music features his hometown, and he often writes about issues...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District is asking residents to help honor the district’s 1,179 graduates by turning on their outdoor lights and decorating their yards between May 25-29. The “Lights On Grads” and Yard/Door Decoration Event is a way to give graduating seniors a...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday voted to allow the city’s moratorium on evictions to expire at the end of the month, and instead defer to tenant protections put in place by California’s Judicial Council. The local moratorium was approved by the council on March...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police shut down a portion of Lake Village Avenue off Tuttle Avenue for nearly two hours as they served a weapons search warrant in the normally sleepy, senior-heavy neighborhood. Roughly two dozen police officers surrounded a house on the 800 block of Lake Village...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez has been named as the recipient of this year’s Phil Rather award. The Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust has been giving the annual award since 1999 to people, businesses and organizations whose contributions improve quality of life...

SANTA CRUZ—Defense attorneys came forward in the Superior Court of Paul Marigonda Tuesday to represent the four suspects in the Oct. 1 kidnapping and murder of tech executive and Pleasure Point resident Tushar Atre. Stephen Lindsay, 22, Kaleb Charters, 19, Kurtis Charters, 22, and Joshua...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Tuesday revised her shelter-in-place order to align most of the county’s restrictions with that of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order. The new county order will open places of worship, in-store retail, outdoor museums and limited...

WATSONVILLE—Author Stephanie Sabatinelli was inspired to write her first children’s book, “The Spittle Spattle Bug,” by her aunt’s enthusiasm for science and the environment.  The book features a spittlebug, a type of hemipteran insect best known for sucking moisture out of plants and encasing themselves...

Gravesites are marked with flags on Memorial Day at the Evergreen Cemetery in Harvest West Park in Santa Cruz Monday. Previously known as Decoration Day, it is a federal holiday in the U.S. designed to honor and mourn military personnel who died while serving in the armed...