Local News

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville High School graduate Kayla Cabrera will be attending virtual classes at UC Berkeley when the fall semester begins on Oct. 1, where she will double major in legal and ethnic studies for a pre-law track. Inspired by social justice issues she encountered while growing...

WATSONVILLE—Mystery novelist and former Managing Editor of the Pajaronian Michael Wallace has released the eighth installment of his ongoing mystery series. “True to You in My Way” follows Wallace’s recurring main character Quill Gordon, a private investigator who was brought to the small Sierra Nevada...

Watsonville Fire Capt. Matt Ryan (right) pays thanks to fellow firefighters from multiple agencies, various police, family and friends Tuesday morning at a farewell breakfast on his final shift as a firefighter. Born in 1962 at the old Watsonville Community Hospital, Ryan said he...

WATSONVILLE—Two men were arrested in Watsonville in an eight-hour block Friday on suspicion of sexually abusing minors. The two cases are unrelated. Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said Fermin Vega, 70, was taken into custody by WPD detectives after three victims “courageously came forward”...

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday responded to a call for an “individual in crisis,” and during a traffic stop on the 1200 block of Soquel Avenue discovered what appeared to be a pipe bomb in the person’s car, according to Sheriff’s...

A growing number of restaurants, cafes and pubs are shifting their furniture outdoors to accommodate customers during the coronavirus outbreak. Since indoor dining has been put on hold by county health officials, new patio, deck, porch, parking lot and sidewalk dining areas are springing...

WATSONVILLE—With roughly 64% of Watsonville having already taken the 2020 Census, the community is keeping pace with the state and national self-response rate. That, Deputy City Manager Tamara Vides said, is something to be proud of, considering the unprecedented circumstances the community has faced during...

WASHINGTON D.C.—California Sen. Kamala Harris, known for her hardline stance on criminal justice, made history Tuesday when she became both the first Asian American and the first African American woman to become a vice-presidential candidate. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden made the long-anticipated announcement after...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Team arrested two gang members over the past week for weapons violations after parole checks at their residences. Isaac Urquiza, 21, was arrested Thursday on the 100 block of Sudden Street in Watsonville for being a...

Santa Cruz County officials said residents should expect to experience rotating power outages of 1-3 hours until 10pm tonight, as the state's energy grid continues to struggle with increased demand because of the ongoing heatwave. The California Independent System Operator (ISO) early Monday issued a...