Local News

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Watsonville Sunday for the annual Mexican Independence Day Festival. Hosted by Fiestas Patrias, the free event featured a wealth of live bands, both local and from Mexico, folkloric dance groups, food booths, arts and crafts and information tables that...

An ongoing investigation involving regional, federal and international authorities has led Watsonville Police Department detectives to identify two women suspected of stealing more than $100,000 from a local jewelry store. The mother-daughter duo, 53-year-old Onita Rostas and 30-year-old Steluta Lacatus, are wanted throughout the United...

LOCAL ART Waverly Liu works on a watercolor painting of the Stockton Bridge in Capitola Wednesday morning. She joined 40 area artists as part of the annual Capitola Plein Air; Artists Paint the Town. From Oct. 21-26 artists fan out around the village to...

California lawmakers in 2024 introduced 4,821 bills, but most of them did not become law, having been tossed or otherwise rejected during the months-long legislative process during which most never saw the light of day. Just 1,206 made it to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, with...

Watsonville police and Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies team up with the county Bomb Team Thursday morning after a suspicious device was found at the door of the County Courthouse in downtown Watsonville before 8am, said WPD spokeswomen Michelle Pulido. s were evacuated, dozens...

The County of Santa Cruz held a soft opening for a new Covid-19 testing site at Ramsay Park Thursday. The site will initially focus on frontline health care workers, first responders and employees working in essential services and roles, said county spokesman Jason Hoppin....

A 53-year-old Castroville man was arrested Tuesday afternoon after he was involved in multiple separate crashes on Green Valley Road. California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murillo said the CHP learned that Francisco Romo Rojas was driving a red 2000 Chevrolet Silverado just before 5pm on...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will consider allocating some $5.8 million to dozens of social services and programs countywide over the next three years. This includes just over $770,000 for United Way’s Cradle to Career, $436,221 for Meals on Wheels and $241,680...

A Watsonville Police K-9 was stabbed Tuesday afternoon in a confrontation police had with an attempted murder suspect.  Sgt. Jarrod Pisturino said the incident began when police got behind a white Honda Accord around 4pm on Rodriguez Street in downtown Watsonville. When the solo occupant...