Local News

WATSONVILLE—Residents of Watsonville’s older adult communities can now get advanced notice when dangerous agricultural chemicals will be applied to fields near their residences. Santa Cruz is one of four counties taking part in a pilot notification program in conjunction with the California Department of Pesticide...

Emergency officials deal with a three-car crash on Elkhorn Road in Las Lomas Tuesday morning. California Highway Patrol officer Chris Weaver said a female driver of a Mini Cooper was traveling south on Elkhorn Road. Around 8:45am a Ford pickup, with two men aboard,...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel said she will revise her shelter-in-place order later this week, after Gov. Gavin Newsom releases information about slightly loosening statewide restrictions. Newsom is expected to launch Stage 2 of his “Reopening Roadmap,” which will allow retail...

Firefighters from several agencies combat a wild land fire on the shoulder of Highway 1 just south of South Green Valley Road Monday in Watsonville.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Just as he did with the 2016 presidential election, President Donald Trump is making accusations of a rigged and fraudulent election in 2020.  But how easy is it to “steal” an election? Ask Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin. She’s been the head of...

WATSONVILLE—When Alicia Martinez first took on the position of Interim Library Director for the Watsonville Public Library, bringing a Poet Laureate Program to the city was one of her goals.  On Tuesday those plans got underway: the library launched a nomination period, which will close...

Watsonville’s Measure N is holding steady at 68.5% of the vote, just over the 66.6% majority needed to pass. That’s according to election results released Friday afternoon by the Santa Cruz County Clerk. The measure showed no change since the last results were released early Wednesday...

Several dozen protesters descended on the Santa Cruz County Government Center on Wednesday to speak out against a decision by the Board of Supervisors a week earlier not to move forward on a key portion of the Coastal Rail Trail project. While the supervisors on...

The last chapter of the Redman-Hirahara house was written Tuesday when the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a staff recommendation to delist it as a historic resource. The decision will allow the property owner to eventually demolish the decrepit 128-year-old building, but not...