Local News

WATSONVILLE—This year’s Santa Cruz County Fair began with a bang, attracting thousands of people to the five-day bacchanalia of food, agriculture and art, and was on track to match last year’s blockbuster attendance. That changed on Sunday, when a rare late-summer rainstorm doused the region,...

WATSONVILLE—Author Stephanie Sabatinelli was inspired to write her first children’s book, “The Spittle Spattle Bug,” by her aunt’s enthusiasm for science and the environment.  The book features a spittlebug, a type of hemipteran insect best known for sucking moisture out of plants and encasing themselves...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a resolution to censure embattled Trustee Georgia Acosta. Trustees Kim De Serpa, Maria Orozco, Jennifer Schacher and Jennifer Holm approved the censure. Acosta and Oscar Soto dissented. Trustee Daniel Dodge, Jr. abstained, saying that...

WATSONVILLE—Opening a new business during a global pandemic might at first seem like a risky move. But for Christian Diaz, it was also an opportunity. With most fitness centers throughout the state remaining closed to stop the spread of Covid-19, people have been looking for...

For five days last week, Watsonville Police Department officers joined police, firefighters and medical professionals from around the county—and beyond—in active shooter training, running through policies and live scenarios at the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District tri-campus in Felton. Sgt. Mish Radich, who headed...

People cheer the Watsonville High School boys' soccer team as they head out of town on Riverside Drive to the Sacramento area on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcatz are set to play for the California Interscholastic Federation Northern California Division I championship today against Whitney High...

WATSONVILLE—As Watsonville residents on Monday shoveled mud from their homes and assessed damage from the storm that wrought havoc and destruction across Santa Cruz County, City officials were urging residents to prepare for the next deluge expected on Wednesday. “Prepare for flooding, and prepare for...

A 62-year-old Aptos man died Tuesday night in a solo-vehicle crash on Soquel San Jose Road. California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murillo said the man, who has not been named, was driving a gray 2004 Chevrolet Silverado northbound on Soquel San Jose Road approaching Los...

A man and his juvenile passenger were injured in a two-vehicle crash that led to gunfire Friday night on Highway 1 in Aptos. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said that around 8:40pm, deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded to a report of a...