Local News

Workers with Nor-Cal Scaffolding on Friday morning finish up their work for the first phase of "Watsonville Brillante," a 1,200-square-foot section of a larger mosaic on the six-story garage abutting Watsonville's Civic Plaza. When complete, the mosaic, spearheaded by local artist Kathleen Crocetti, will...

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a man on Laurel Road off of Highway 17 as a homicide. Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said deputies on Sunday night were alerted to reports of a man with a gun...

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SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Chief Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios told the Board of Supervisors Monday that it should spend $20 million in reserves to fill a deficit for the 2019-20 fiscal year caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. That move will be a sizable slice of...

FREEDOM—A Freedom man was arrested Saturday after a bullet he fired during a July 4 celebration ricocheted off the ground and entered a nearby residence, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said. The bullet came within inches of a 10-year-old girl in her Miller...

UPDATE: The 1-year-old has been returned to her mother. WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Police Department is asking for the public’s help in finding a 1-year-old child who was abruptly taken by her father after an argument with the child’s mother in Watsonville Sunday night. WPD spokeswoman Michelle Pulido...

Editor’s note:  This is the second entry of a weekly four-part series about the Pajaro Valley’s Japanese community. The series will culminate on Aug. 14, coinciding with this year’s celebration of the Obon Festival, a cultural and religious Japanese event honoring one’s ancestors. Read...

TARMO HANNULA I saw another large temporary chalk art drawing in front of the Main Branch of the Watsonville Public Library last week. The point of the artwork is to draw attention to the ongoing 2020 Census. Several such art installations have been created around...

Do you have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name...

A few days ago I rode my bike through downtown Santa Cruz and out by the wharf and the Beach Boardwalk. It was empty. Almost lifeless. Our mostly blue sky was sure a welcome sight Monday. So was the cooler air that drifted in from...