Local News

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Fire Department will soon take on a new firefighter/paramedic after he completed the 16-week training academy at Watsonville Fire Station No. 2 on Airport Boulevard on Dec. 2. Adrian Chairez, of Santa Cruz, and three other trainees were officially presented with their badges at...

WATSONVILLE—The Cabrillo College Board of Trustees on Monday unanimously appointed Martha Vega to fill the Area 5 seat left vacant when Felipe Hernandez was elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. “I’m grateful,” she said. “I am humbled and I’m honored and I...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Students in Santa Cruz County are once again invited to submit entries into a regional writing contest headed by the Palo Alto Humane Society (PAHS). The Ambassadors of Compassion Story Writing Contest is open to seventh and eighth graders in Santa Cruz, Santa...

Editor's note: Updated results of this race can be found here. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Alyssa Wall has taken a large lead over opponent Brad Williams in the race for the seven-member Santa Cruz County Office of Education (COE) board Trustee Area 5. According to the votes...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—New Leaf Community Market has closed its Aptos location after seven employees tested positive for COVID-19. The company made the announcement on its website  on Tuesday, saying the store will stay closed “until further notice.”  The announcement came four days after the store closed...

WATSONVILLE—On March 30, the Watsonville Municipal Airport (KWVI) announced it had renewed a two-year lease with Watsonville-based Urban Organics, aiming to bring fresh produce to the community as the sole organic farm within city limits. At the southernmost tip of airport property, just over the...

The Department of Community Development and Infrastructure will implement stiff penalties for illegal dumping violations on July 11.

This new mural on Cruz Kitchen and Taps in Santa Cruz was recently created by Watsonville artist Paul De Worken of Monterey Bay Murals.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County’s top fire official on Tuesday warned that, because of a lackluster rainy season, the ongoing drought and low reservoirs, the upcoming fire season could be as bad or worse than last year’s. “As we look back at last year, anything...

SANTA CRUZ—Dozens of homeless people were roused by police officers in their tents early Friday morning at Phoenix Camp, the unsanctioned encampment behind the Gateway Plaza at River Street and Highway 1 in Santa Cruz. The message was clear: the residents were trespassing on city-owned...