Local News

Since the housing market rebounded in 2013, median home prices and rents have risen exponentially at the state and local levels, outpacing wage increases and housing production by a wide margin. The state identified an annual housing need of 180,000 units between 2015 and 2025, yet California has produced less than half of that number each year.

Robert Lyons Sr. celebrated his 100th birthday Saturday at his family home, 50 Beverly Drive in Watsonville, where he has lived for 65 years.

SEACLIFF—The new Seacliff Skate Park opened Saturday in Seacliff Village Park.  The park is nestled in a curving section of McGregor Drive at Canterbury Drive and beside the State Park exit from Highway 1. It features “skateable art,” features a view of the Monterey Bay...

WATSONVILLE—When asked how he and his wife got their start in education, Lowell Hurst responded with a modest, self-deprecating answer synonymous with the longtime politician and educator. “Some people suggested, well, ‘Wendy, you’re bilingual, you’ve got a teaching credential, and, Lowell, we’re really not sure...

APTOS—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is searching for two suspects in a late-night burglary of an Aptos dentist’s office on Aug. 21. Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said surveillance video captured two men between the ages of 18-30 burglarizing the office. They made off...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Measure M, a $350 million bond that would fund much-needed renovation and construction projects at every school in the district, is so far passing by a narrow margin. Measure M would raise $18.3 million annually by placing $60 per $100,000...

WATSONVILLE—The company that purchased Watsonville Community Hospital two years ago—Los Angeles-based Halsen Healthcare—has been removed from a leadership role as of Jan. 18. Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings will now run the hospital on an interim basis. The announcement came Monday via an email to...

SANTA CRUZ—With a short welcoming greeting to a small crowd gathered outside Santa Cruz’s new REI store Wednesday evening, manager John Davis opened the doors for the first time, allowing employees’ friends and family a peek before the store opens Friday. An abbreviation of Recreational...