Local News

WATSONVILLE—Two relative newcomers to Watsonville politics will face off for the vacant District 2 seat in a special election slated for Dec. 7. Francisco “Frank” Barba and Vanessa Quiroz-Carter turned in the paperwork required to run for office just before the deadline on Monday evening....

WATSONVILLE—The sails are trimmed tight, the masts lean toward the water’s edge and the rudders carve a steady path around the final buoy toward the finish line. As a gentle breeze nudges the lead sailboat—just one meter long—to a victory, the hollers fill the...

AROMAS—A 75-year-old Aptos man died Sept. 24 in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 129, or Riverside Road, at Rogge Lane near Aromas. Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Dean Peppas. Alyssa Gutierrez of the California Highway Patrol said Peppas...

WATSONVILLE—An effort to recall Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Georgia Acosta has failed after organizers were unable to gather the roughly 2,200 signatures needed before Monday's deadline to put it before voters. Efforts to recall Acosta began early this year after the Area II...

PAJARO VALLEY—Open Farm Tours returns this Saturday and Sunday to the greater Pajaro Valley, with eight local farms participating in two days of events.  Originally started in 2014 as the Corralitos Open Farm Tour, the event has continued to grow and add more farms from...

WATSONVILLE—A crew from Watsonville Public Works is continuing a city-wide project to enhance the safety of crosswalks. The multiphase job has already completed numerous “high visibility” crosswalks at a number of downtown intersections on Rodriguez, Union and Brennan streets. Assistant Director of Public Works Maria...

WATSONVILLE—David Schartow was a retired ironworker living in Paradise with his young daughter when the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed the entire town, including his home. Now homeless, Schartow, 64, has since bounced through several temporary shelters, including his current accommodations, the Comfort Inn in Watsonville....

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz Police on Tuesday arrested a man who they say stole a bicycle from a 10-year-old girl as she rode home from school with her friends the day before. Jordan Howard, 33, listed as transient, was charged with robbery and false imprisonment. He...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council approved an agreement with the County of Santa Cruz on a proposed 80-unit affordable apartment complex that, if approved by the county supervisors, would break ground in early 2022. MidPen Housing, a nonprofit developer, is leading the project between Atkinson Lane...

WATSONVILLE—Sisters-in-law Araceli Gonzalez and Laura Espindola first had the idea to open their own business more than two years ago.  Both mothers with a passion for shopping, they wanted to open a shop full of products for young children and new (and expecting) mothers.  “We had...