Local News

I walked past the former Second Street cafe on Second Street in downtown Watsonville Thursday and noticed new logo signs in the window for the Craft Bakeshop and Eatery. The folks that owned Corralitos Coffee are on the move to open the new business...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office have disrupted a major hash oil lab on Hangar Way in Watsonville. Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin said agents from the Cannabis Licensing Office are investigating the discovery of an illegal operation using dangerous chemicals and equipment to...

WATSONVILLE—A 19-year-old Watsonville man, armed with a loaded handgun, was arrested Wednesday following a brief but dramatic foot chase. The incident unfolded on Dawson Street near Marchant Street and the Pajaro River Levee around 1:30pm, Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. Gabriel Villanueva was...

The Watsonville Buddhist Temple (WBT) is one of the Pajaro Valley’s oldest institutions, having served as a center for both religious worship and community service since 1906. Founded by immigrants who arrived in the Pajaro Valley toward the end of the 19th century, the temple...

WATSONVILLE—A 33-year-old Watsonville man died in a solo-vehicle crash just before midnight Tuesday on Riverside Road, or Highway 129. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the victim was driving a 1999 Lexus west on Riverside Road south of Lakeview Road with a 44-year-old female...

Several roads will be closed over the weekend.

We wanted to end the old year and ring in the new one with a collection of photos from notable events from2024. And what a year it was! Just a few months after local officials celebrated the reopening of the Capitola Wharf after months of...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday voted to end public comment via Zoom at its meetings, a decision spurred by two racist 'zoom bomb' calls made anonymously on Oct. 24. The city of Capitola also experienced so-called “Zoom-bombs” around the same time. In the calls, both...

A 48-year-old Watsonville man pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges he was intoxicated when he caused a crash in 2021 that killed another man, prosecutors said. Israel Cruz pled no contest to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving...

More than three months after storm damage forced the closure of Valencia Elementary School, Santa Cruz County work crews are beginning the repair work, county spokesman Jason Hoppin said Wednesday.