Pajaro students get history lesson of a ‘lifetime’
SAN FRANCISCO—The Orpheum Theater in San Francisco was abuzz with excitement Wednesday afternoon as 1,500 eighth-graders from North Monterey County settled in to experience “Hamilton: An American Musical.”
Among them was the eighth-grade class from Pajaro Middle School.
“I’m really excited,” said Darlene Valenzuela, who made...
Santa Cruz County faces weekend power shutoff
UPDATE (Oct. 27, 10 a.m.): PG&E has established the following locations to provide residents power, water and information.
People can charge phones and powered medical devices between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. The centers will stay open until power is restored.
• Siltanen Park next to...
Police seeking church vandal
WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Police is asking for help in identifying a man who was caught on camera vandalizing St. Patrick’s Church on Tuesday afternoon.
Surveillance footage shows the suspect walking toward the front doors of the church with a spray paint can in hand. About 15...
Group proposes revamped syringe plan in Santa Cruz County
SANTA CRUZ—Five months after pulling their application to run a mobile needle distribution system, the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County is back with a revamped plan.
Under the new proposal, the HRCSCC would offer home delivery of syringes and injection supplies and phone-based...
Consent agenda: City sells lot to Ow family
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday sold the Resetar Parking Lot in downtown to the Ow family for $542,850.
The 40-space lot at 535 Main St., also known as Parking Lot No. 4, is used daily by multiple businesses in downtown, including county-wide nonprofit Community...
Newsom signs several housing bills
WATSONVILLE—Governor Gavin Newsom on the final day of action for the 2019 legislative season signed Assembly Bill 1783, also known as the Farmworker Housing Act of 2019, which creates a streamlined process to build farmworker housing on agricultural land.
The bill was authored by Assemblymember...
Teacher arrested for child sex crimes
SAN LORENZO VALLEY—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday arrested a Felton man for several counts of lewd acts with children.
Michael Henderson, 51, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.
Henderson is a teacher at San Lorenzo Valley High School...
Watsonville suspect nabbed for lewd behavior
A man was arrested Wednesday at his Watsonville home on suspicion of arranging for sex with a minor, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (SDPS).
Officials at the SDPS received information that Pablo Taskey, 27, used an online social media application, and arranged...
Council approves fee for public art on commercial property
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville City Council on Tuesday approved a $200 fee for community initiated public art on privately owned commercial property.
The fee will be used to defray the cost of city staff preparing reports on proposed public art for presentation to the Parks & Recreation Commission,...
Greenfield man dies in Hwy 1 crash near Watsonville
A 30-year-old Greenfield man died in a head-on crash on Highway 1 late Wednesday night.
Julieta Trenado of the California Highway Patrol said the victim, who has not been identified, was driving the wrong way in the southbound lanes at 11:35 p.m. in a 2013...
Countywide history fair set for Watsonville
In the late 1800s, Claus Spreckels ran a mill that processed locally grown sugar beets, a thriving industry that is generally credited with seeing...