Local News

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police are investigating a shooting that happened Friday afternoon on the 700 block of Rodriguez Street in Watsonville. Numerous witnesses called 911 to report the shooting around 3:45pm. When police arrived moments later they found eight bullet shell casings on the sidewalk beside an...

UPDATE 3:20PM: Caltrans reported all northbound lanes of Highway 17 in both Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties have reopened. Southbound Highway 17 south of Summit Road is fully opened. Currently only one lane of southbound Highway 17 north of Summit Road is open. ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Early...

WATSONVILLE—On Saturday the Watsonville Buddhist Temple will host a special benefit concert featuring Otonowa, a jazz-fusion ensemble led by world-renowned percussionist Akira Tana. In 2012 Otonowa, which translates to “sound circle,” began playing shows to raise money for survivors of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami...

WATSONVILLE—The nonprofit hoping to purchase Watsonville Community Hospital—and return its control to the community after years of out-of-state corporate ownership—has moved closer to making that a reality with an unexpected infusion of cash. Sen. John Laird and Assemblyman Robert Rivas announced Thursday that they have...

Editor’s note This is the second of three stories featuring the challengers running for seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees. ••• Gabriel Medina graduated from Watsonville High school in 2010 and went to UC Los Angeles to study filmmaking. He returned to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Wednesday issued new restrictions on the county’s beaches, restricting their use between 11am and 5 pm starting on Saturday. The new restrictions came after hordes of people crowded the beaches and ignored social distancing rules...

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Watsonville leaders, state officials and community members gathered Thursday afternoon at City Plaza to celebrate the start of a long-awaited revitalization project aimed at preserving the historic downtown gathering place while expanding its use for future generations. The project, which city officials said is expected...

WATSONVILLE—Two men were shot five hours apart in reportedly unrelated incidents on the outskirts of Watsonville on June 23, and multiple suspects remain at large. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn on June 24 said deputies are searching for 47-year-old Edgar Ayala, the...