Local News

For more than three decades Ana Ortega has been making folks happy. As the owner of Ana’s Flowers, a modest flower tent adjoining the long-standing Capitola Produce, she has thrown her talent and keen eye into making dazzling flower arrangements for everyone from everyday passersby to grand-scale events.

Special events Hempcon Halloweed (Oct. 26-27) A fully legal and licensed marijuana show at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds with live entertainment and many exhibits, including medical marijuana dispensaries, collectives, caregivers, evaluation services, legal services, educational institutions, equipment, accessories and more. For tickets or information visit hempcon.com/halloweed-2019. La Sonora...

WATSONVILLE—Swift efforts are underway to open a new Habitat for Humanity ReStore in downtown Watsonville.  The national second-hand retail store is aiming for a mid-August soft opening in the behemoth 9,700-square-foot building at 555 Main St. that once served as a grocery store, a furniture...

In Watsonville today my wife Sarah and I stopped in at Monterey Bay Caterers, 152 West Lake Ave. Owner Ken Schwan helped me preorder two take out dinners a few days ago—their beef Wellington and a chicken Cordon Bleu. Ken said you simply take...

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday is expected to announce the closure of all beaches and state parks starting Friday, multiple national news agencies reported late Wednesday night. The news comes days after Gov. Newsom expressed concern over numerous photos of people crowding beaches throughout the...

MEET AND GREET - Watsonville Police officer Sergio Bañuelos converses with Micaela Henson, David Hernadez and their chill Melissa Friday outside the Police Department during the first Coffee With a Cop. The free, informal gathering serves as an arena for the community to engage...

SANTA CRUZ—After an emotional three-hour sentencing hearing Friday that included testimony from friends and family of both suspect and victim, the woman who stabbed her husband to death in their Aptos home in 2019 learned her sentence. Amanda Owens will spend three years in prison,...

WATSONVILLE—Parishioners celebrated the 150th anniversary of St Patrick’s Catholic Parish on Oct. 11 in a ceremony that drew members from across the Pajaro Valley to celebrate an institution whose community roots go back hundreds of years. The first recorded Catholic religious ceremony in the Pajaro...