Local News

Spring began today and brief shower activity along with a dusting of snow in the mountains helped paint the picture. Tonight there is a 20 percent chance of showers before 8 p.m., the National Weather Service said. On Friday there is a 20 percent...

PLEASURE POINT—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office on Wednesday released a video of the suspects who allegedly kidnapped a man from his Pleasure Point home last month and then killed him. Tushar Atre, 50, was kidnapped from his upscale oceanfront home on Oct. 1 around...

By Jake Pierce, Good Times OAKLAND—The Ben Lomond man charged with killing a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputy on June 6 was also the gunman in the shooting of two law enforcement officers in Oakland last month, U.S. Attorney Dave Anderson alleged Tuesday. Millbrae resident Robert...

In a brief special meeting on  Dec. 27, three Santa Cruz County Supervisors declared a local emergency, which will allow officials to request state and federal assistance for the damages from the heavy surf, winds and storm surge on Dec. 23 and 24. The waves...

WATSONVILLE—Just after a small cadre of school district officials cut a ceremonial ribbon at Pajaro Valley High School’s gleaming new sports field on Friday afternoon, a group of student-athletes took to the track, running a lap while onlookers cheered. This simple athletic act was both...

TARMO HANNULA I saw another large temporary chalk art drawing in front of the Main Branch of the Watsonville Public Library last week. The point of the artwork is to draw attention to the ongoing 2020 Census. Several such art installations have been created around...

The Watsonville Buddhist Temple will host its annual Obon Festival Sunday with an afternoon of dedication and dancing.

WATSONVILLE—After their planned graduation on June 4 was canceled due to concerns of a violent protest, 11 graduates of New School Community Day School’s class of 2020 received their diplomas Monday in a drive-thru ceremony. In addition to the students, Pajaro Valley Unified School District...

A piece of Watsonville’s history was torn to the ground Monday as a wrecking crew demolished the Taqueria Mi Tierra restaurant on Freedom Boulevard.  The building was once a popular A&W drive-in restaurant, Rosa’s Mexican restaurant and Mi Tierra until they closed last year.  Plans now...

WATSONVILLE—In early February of 2020, the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture held its Annual Awards Dinner. It was one of the last major events in South County before the pandemic shut things down six weeks later. The dinner returns this year on July...