Local News

APTOS—As a young man, Bapcha Murty moved from his native Chennai, India to attend UC Los Angeles and become an engineer. He went on to a career in the Silicon Valley tech industry that spanned more than two decades in several companies. But when Murty...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District is beginning the new school year with rising test scores at several campuses, students taking a larger role in shaping district policy and construction poised to begin on a long-awaited performing arts center at Pajaro Valley High School. In an...

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly said that Hedgpeth is a former coach. He still coaches for Watsonville High School. The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved naming Watsonville High School’s athletic facility to honor longtime...

Members of the local 45-year-old dance company Esperanza del Valle treat the public to the annual La Rama parade in downtown Watsonville Dec. 19. Joined by members of Estrellas de Esperanza, the dancers brought traditional attire and dances to the streets around the weekly...

A man considered a sexual predator was arrested Wednesday morning in Capitola when Capitola Police and U.S. Marshals served a federal search warrant on the 1100 block of Sutherland Lane.  George Paul Bishop was wanted for failing to register as a violent child sex offender,...

The Aztecas Youth Soccer Club and Santa Cruz County Probation will celebrate the grand opening of the club’s new clubhouse with a community barbecue and open house on July 28 in Watsonville. The event will run from noon-1:30pm at 200 Prospect St. and is open...

The annual Veterans Day parade returned this year after being canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. About three dozen local veterans marched down Main Street and up Beach Street to the Mello Center for a celebration of their service in the armed forces.

WATSONVILLE—A man who was recently hired as a Watsonville Police officer—and who is facing assault and vandalism charges for a bizarre string of incidents in South Lake Tahoe on Aug. 20—is no longer employed with the City of Watsonville, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido...

Across Watsonville, throughout Santa Cruz County and around the U.S., people came out Tuesday to meet their neighbors, have dinner, play games and simply enjoy the late summer evening.