Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Today is Giving Tuesday, a worldwide generosity movement aiming to raise funds for nonprofits and communities. Every Tuesday after Thanksgiving, organizations, small businesses, schools and corporations come together to celebrate the event. Giving Tuesday began in 2012 at the 92nd Street Y and...

A new outdoor mural was unveiled at Cesar Chavez Middle School May 25, a joint effort between Watsonville artist Yermo Aranda, area students, instructors and others. The four-panel mural, roughly 25-by-40-feet, depicts scenes from indigenous people and a multistage chronology of the life of Cesar...

A length of Riverside Drive in Watsonville is undergoing a major surface upgrade.

A man who has worked for Pajaro valley Unified School District for more than a decade was arrested Sept. 3 on sexual assault charges. Ivan Alcaraz, 37, was charged with oral copulation of an unconscious person. He was out of custody after posting $50,000 bail,...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District would likely have enough voter support for a $315 million bond if it went on the November 2024 ballot. That was the message to the Board of Trustees Wednesday from Dale Scott, whose eponymous consultancy company conducted a straw poll...

Residents in Santa Cruz County will face steep fines for using fireworks this Fourth of July, including at area beaches. “Illegal fireworks can be a threat to public safety, spark wildfires, and be harmful to the environment, vulnerable residents, and pets,” Santa Cruz County spokesman...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County on Monday identified 22 new Covid-19 cases, breaking its previous single-day record (21) set just a week ago. There are now 129 active cases in the county and there have been 379 cases overall. Of those residents that have contracted...

A 20-year-old Sonora man died early Friday morning when he was struck by a car on Highway 1 in Watsonville. The California Highway Patrol said the man, who has not been named, suddenly walked out onto the slow lane of northbound Highway 1 near Main...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a new ordinance which, if given final approval on March 8, will impose a one-year “cooling off” period during which former County employees would be prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities for...

WATSONVILLE—Lane closures are in place on Highway 1 where it crosses the Pájaro River to allow crews to repair the storm-damaged bridge. The work, which got underway Thursday, calls for the closure of one of two southbound lanes of Highway 1 south of Riverside Drive,...