Local News

More than 1,000 people attended the first-ever Summer Soul Festival at Pinto Lake County Park on Sunday.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Gov. Gavin Newsom on May 27 released his revision of the California budget, and through it proposed to eliminate funding for Community Based Adult Services (CBAS) no sooner than July 1. CBAS programs aim to provide seniors alternatives to nursing facilities and other...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s voters have spoken. And their message was clear: keep our police and fire departments strong. Measure Y, the renewal of the half-cent public safety sales tax, passed with a little more than 76 percent of the votes from Tuesday night’s primary election. The measure will take...

WATSONVILLE—The art of Juan R. Fuentes, a Watsonville High graduate, is the feature of the latest Pajaro Valley Arts exhibit, “Resilience: Works of Strength and Dignity 2023.” The body of over 50 works in woodcut, linocut, linocut/screenprint and screenprint—plus more than two dozen posters—spans Fuentes’...

The four mayors in Santa Cruz County – Francisco Estrada of Watsonville, Martine Watkins of Santa Cruz, Jack Dilles of Scotts Valley and Jacques Bertrand of Capitola – joined Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Chair Ryan Coonerty at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Cruz to rally the community to stand up and be heard during the 2020 Census count.

MONTEREY BAY—Connected in Pride 2.0, a free virtual Pride celebration hosted by Monterey and Santa Cruz counties’ leading LGBTQ+ organizations, will take place on July 24th via various virtual platforms. Participating groups include Pajaro Valley Pride, Monterey Peninsula Pride, Salinas Valley Pride and Santa Cruz...

All 280 California State Parks have been closed to all day use visitors and all vehicles are being turned away during the COVID-19 outbreak. • The first case of COVID-19 was announced in Santa Cruz County on March 6 and now — three weeks later —...

WATSONVILLE—A man died Friday around 12:45pm when he lost control of his motorcycle while exiting Highway 1 southbound at the Riverside exit. California Highway patrol officer Israel Murillo said the motorcyclist shot off the pavement on the curve of the exit, plunged through a...

The causes of food insecurity are complex, but research suggests that health, housing and employment are key factors.  Feeding America—the country’s largest hunger relief organization—reports that annual healthcare costs for food-insecure adults are on average $1,834 higher than food-secure adults. Food insecurity, as defined by...

Watsonville Elks Lodge #1300 recently honored their Past Exalted Rulers (PER). It was a day of recognizing the leadership team for their past service to the lodge and community. The Elks support veterans, scholastic scholarships, local community programs and youth groups.  The PERs were recognized for...