Local News

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police on Monday said that three separate shootings that occurred Saturday night—which left two people dead—were not related. Two of them, however, are likely gang-related, WPD spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. The first shooting, which police believe is gang-related, occurred in the area of Marchant...

Thania Banda sorts fresh flowers at California Pajarosa in Corralitos Wednesday as the flower industry steps up for Valentine’s Day orders. Valentine’s Day is Tuesday.

Several thousand people showed up for the reopening ceremony of the Capitola Wharf on Wednesday, celebrating its survival after it was cleaved in two by heavy storms. The wharf, founded in 1857, now boasts new lighting, side rails, benches, permanently mounted viewing scopes,  several art...

WATSONVILLE—The Monterey Bay Birding Festival has been mothballed for the second year in a row due to pandemic complications. Despite most levels of society, from schools, businesses, services and government, edging back toward normal operations, the festival—in its 17th year—couldn’t get off the ground. “The festival...

WATSONVILLE—The 29-year-old woman who died after she was struck by a car on Jan. 6 in Watsonville has been identified as Aubrey Newell, said Ashley Keehn, spokeswoman for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff/Coroner’s Office. Newell was walking across Main Street near Rodriguez Street in a...

Prominent farmworker activist and organizer Dolores Huerta joined several other speakers at a public meeting in Watsonville Saturday to raise awareness about the dangers of agricultural pesticide use on farmworkers, children, consumers and residents throughout Santa Cruz county.  Childhood cancer rates in Santa Cruz county...

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