Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County residents will have to stay home for at least another month. County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel on Tuesday night extended the county’s shelter-in-place order through May 3. The order, first enacted on March 17 to slow the spread of COVID-19,...

PRUNEDALE—Former Watsonville mayor Luis Alejo, who previously served on the California Assembly and now sits on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, was arrested Friday on drunk driving charges. According to California Highway Patrol Officer Jessica Madueño, officers on patrol in Prunedale just before midnight...

Tarmo Hannula: I learned in the newspapers the other day that Germans are credited with starting the tradition of Christmas trees in the 1500s. • At midnight Tuesday, as Christmas Eve slipped into Christmas Day, I heard an interesting bit on my police radio from a...

The Aptos High Theater Department is presenting Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” opening Friday. The school is putting its own spin on the classic tale by re-imagining it in the 1980s.

Hundreds of people joined a celebration of the eight-year anniversary of the S. Martinelli Company Store on Harvest Drive Thursday during an ice cream social.  To mark the return of the holidays, Martinelli’s offered up samples of its Apple Cider & Cranberry Jam Ice Cream. Gun...

SANTA CRUZ—A Santa Cruz woman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of using social media to sell vape products and alcohol to minors. Martha Espinoza, 41, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail, but was not in custody on Thursday morning, jail records showed. The Santa Cruz...

Students were given a special treat during their first week of summer school when The Physics Bus made a stop at Calabasas Elementary School.

WATSONVILLE—A deal between the City of Watsonville and Pajaro Valley Arts for the sale of the historic Porter Building cleared one of the few remaining hurdles on Monday afternoon. The city approved a minor land division that will allow the century-old building at 280 Main...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is once again looking to fill the historic Porter Building in downtown. City officials on Nov. 12 released a request for proposals (RFP) for the sale or long-term lease of the two-story, 15,000-square-foot building at the corner of Main and Maple...

Heritage Hall at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds was bustling late Wednesday morning as guests of the National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon eagerly lined up for food.