Local News

WATSONVILLE—Work has resumed on Watsonville Brillante, a massive outdoor mural project on the exterior walls of the six-story Civic Plaza parking garage. The new installation features colorful panels depicting cultures from around the globe, plus panels for all 32 states of Mexico. The work is...

Tarmo Hannula: Santa Cruz has a new mayor: Justin Cummings, 36, a Beach Flats resident was sworn in Tuesday. A biologist, he told the council that he wants to keep Santa Cruz abreast with the latest environmentally sustainable topics. Homelessness is also at the...

The County of Santa Cruz on Friday released a draft ordinance that would regulate the development of future Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). By crafting the ordinance, the county seeks to maintain local control over where BESS facilities are located, and how they are operated. The...

Watsonville Community Hospital could receive millions in emergency state funding under a budget measure signed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom aimed at helping financially distressed hospitals avoid closure. The funding comes through Assembly Bill 108, an emergency appropriations measure that creates a one-time grant...

WATSONVILLE—Staff of Life has delayed the opening of its Watsonville location until next year, according to spokeswoman Hollie Wendt. The Santa Cruz-based natural foods store was set to open its second location in the East Lake Village Shopping Center sometime in the fall. “After much discussion...

A pair of students from a Santa Cruz-based home school program took a top prize earlier this month at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles.

Workers with the City of Watsonville use a forklift and a dump truck to haul away thousands of sandbags from a lot on Bridge Street Tuesday. Chris Miranda of Neighborhood Services said sandbags can no longer be dropped off at the site. He said...

The Aptos High Theater Department is presenting Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” opening Friday. The school is putting its own spin on the classic tale by re-imagining it in the 1980s.

Two years ago Amy Thomas, principal at Watsonville Charter School of the Arts, noticed that her students were getting a bit restless during and in between classes. She and staff began searching for something both educational and physical to engage the kids during the...

The 59th annual Lumberjack Breakfast was held this morning at the Corralitos Community Center.