Local News

I saw groups of people hanging out in the City Plaza downtown today. Scores of shoppers came and went from the Target store on Main Street. At times traffic looked near normal along Main Street and Freedom Boulevard. I saw a line of about...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday opened the bidding process for a project that will add bike lanes and make pedestrian and traffic improvements along a 5.6-mile stretch of Soquel Drive in Mid-County. Construction is expected to start in the summer...

Watsonville Public Library is currently showing an exhibit of archived photographs of community murals throughout the city's history. The display was put together by Marisol Medina-Cadena with the help of local organizations and educational institutions. To view the accompanying digital archive, visit bit.ly/3CTF0Va.

While she can’t quite remember what sparked her interest, Arielle Bennet has known she wanted to be a firefighter since she was a small child. Bennet, 18, has been a part of the Watsonville Fire Youth Academy since last year, and now serves as advisor...

The City of Berkeley's health officer, Dr. Lisa Hernandez, is poised to take leadership of Santa Cruz County's Health Services Agency if her appointment is approved by the county Board of Supervisors next week.  Hernandez, who has 25 years of experience as a medical doctor...

PAJARO VALLEY—Diane Porter Cooley, whose family history dates back to Santa Cruz County’s infancy, and whose conservation efforts of both farmland and forest helped build the underpinnings of the county’s environmental ideology—and reshape the way the nation viewed agricultural land protection—died Thursday in her...

PAJARO—People living in south Santa Cruz County and north Monterey County could soon see Pajaro River’s levee system rebuilt, a long-awaited project that would offer up to 100-year flood protection to the area, and be a comfort to residents who have been beset by...

WATSONVILLE—A woman suffered major injuries Monday when she was struck by a vehicle as she walked on Green Valley Road, California Highway Patrol Officer Jessica Madueño said. According to Madueño, the woman was walking in the eastbound lane of Green Valley Road just east of...

Cabrillo College opened its new Watsonville Wellness Center and Food Pantry on Monday at the Watsonville campus on Union Street. “We are very excited to launch the Watsonville Wellness Center, which allows us to equitably provide students with basic-needs services at both our Aptos and...

For the final concert of the season on Thursday, the city is partnering with the Santa Cruz Symphony and the Pajaro Valley Unified School District for a special performance. “Music for the Heart” invites the community to a free concert featuring members of the symphony along with students from PVUSD schools and dancers from local folklórico group Esperanza Del Valle.