News

The extensive slough system that runs through the heart of the Pajaro Valley has become a cornerstone for local recreation, wildlife viewing, education and research.  These wetlands are home to various species of animals and plants, many rare and endangered. They help replenish groundwater, buffer...

A man died in a multiple vehicle crash just outside of Pajaro Thursday evening.

A Caltrans worker helps clean up after a big rig smashed into a guardrail Monday on Highway 129 in Aromas. California Highway Patrol officer Fred Smith said the rig, carrying food goods, was traveling east on Hwy 129 around 1:15pm when he veered to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—New Leaf Community Market closed its new Aptos location on Saturday for a one-day deep cleaning after an employee there tested positive for COVID-19. Store officials said that the closure was voluntary. “While healthy authorities have not required us to close the store, we...

WATSONVILLE–A man whose passenger was seriously injured in a reckless driving incident late November—and who fled the scene after it happened—was arrested Tuesday on a $1 million warrant, California Highway Patrol Officer Sam Courtney said. Randy Dale Sanders, 58, was charged with reckless driving causing...

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...

A ribbon-cutting was held Thursday to celebrate the completion of an upgrade to the heavily worn out Murphy Crossing Road east of Watsonville. With close to 1,800 vehicles a day using the .63-mile stretch between San Juan and Riverside roads, the two-lane roadway was for...

WATSONVILLE—Since February, a small group of women has been hard at work, learning the detailed world of the beauty industry in Watsonville’s new—and Santa Cruz County’s only—cosmetology program. The new program began with just six students, although Watsonville/Aptos/Santa Cruz Adult Education Director Nancy Bilicich expects...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s Five Star Catering is currently offering a curated gift box for the holidays. The Holiday Local’s Box supports eight Santa Cruz County businesses that have been negatively affected by the pandemic.  Products include handmade Pecan Snowballs from Edith Meyer Wedding Cakes, fair trade organic...

A new outdoor mural was unveiled at Cesar Chavez Middle School May 25, a joint effort between Watsonville artist Yermo Aranda, area students, instructors and others. The four-panel mural, roughly 25-by-40-feet, depicts scenes from indigenous people and a multistage chronology of the life of Cesar...