Local News

Gisselle Padilla spent much of her childhood translating for her parents, who worked in the strawberry fields after immigrating from Mexico. Years later, she found herself advocating for her own son during Individualized Education Program meetings, frustrated that she often felt unheard and unable to...

Work has started on a lengthy trail for pedestrians and bicyclists along sections of Harkins Slough and Lee roads near Pajaro Valley High School.  Watsonville Principal Patrice Theriot said the City contracted Monterey Peninsula Engineering to construct Phase 1 of the “Lee Road Trail” project.   Designed...

People in six counties around the Bay Area and Watsonville came out on July 3 to voice their disapproval of a federal plan by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to build immigration detention facilities in Gilroy and Dublin.  A crowd of around 20 people...

Recent Watsonville High graduate Azucena Sandoval spent much of her education learning the fundamentals of science she will study this fall at Stanford University. But she rarely got to put those concepts into practical use. That changed in late June when she participated in SkyLab,...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday gave final approval to a new camping ordinance creating designated “no-encampment zones,” allowing the city to immediately remove encampments from certain public areas without providing the standard 72-hour notice. The vote marked the ordinance’s second reading, making it final. The...

Thousands of people lines the mainstreets of Aptos and Watsonville for their annual Fourth of July parades, some staking out their roadside seats the night before. Below is a collection of images from the events. SPIRIT OF WATSONVILLE All Watsonville photos by Tarmo Hannula APTOS WORLD'S SHORTEST...

Everyone is invited to pedal along in a community bike ride July 5. Grab your bikes and bring the whole family for a fun ride on the Ohlone Loop Trail. The route, described as gently challenging, starts at 150 Westridge Drive in Watsonville. The free...

Nine months of late nights, countless repairs and more than 100 hours spent testing an underwater robot in a swimming pool paid off in a big way for a team of Santa Cruz County high school students. Hephaestus Robotics, a 21-member team representing eight county...

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a revised $20.9 million budget for the Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services Department, restoring several services that had been slated for cuts while preserving most county funding for local arts organizations. The spending...