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

WATSONVILLE—When Bike Santa Cruz County approached South County officials to start up a monthly community bike ride, Watsonville Cyclery owner Julian “Jules” Mandujano was eager to get involved. Every last Friday of the month, Mandujano offers up his business at 25 East 5th St. as...

NORTH MONTEREY COUNTY—The North Monterey County Fire Protection District is ushering in a new era. A month after announcing it will promote longtime employee Joel Mendoza to Fire Chief, the North County Fire Board of Directors celebrated the approval of a benefit assessment that will...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police on Monday arrested a man suspected of a shooting Sunday night that left a woman and a teen girl in critical condition.  Detectives tracked down Raul Morales, 35, to Los Banos where he lived. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office and Los Banos Police...

AROMAS—A large wildland fire in Aromas that started on July 21 charred 104 acres and was 100% contained as of Thursday, Cal Fire spokesperson Cecile Juliette said. At 3:21pm on July 21, two fires broke out behind Graniterock’s AR Wilson Quarry east of Aromas. Cal...

CENTRAL COAST—As the holiday season barrels ahead and gift-giving inches closer for some, the United States Post Service (USPS) has taken on extra help and expanded its hours.  In Watsonville, to brace for the uptick, postmaster Vicki Amarus said the post office has hired four...

WATSONVILLE—New Watsonville City Manager Rene Mendez stepped into the leadership role on July 1.  Just three days later he was driving Watsonville City Councilman Jimmy Dutra through the Spirit of Watsonville Fourth of July Parade in a Chevrolet Corvette, and, in the time before and...

Watsonville Firefighters and paramedics treated four teen girls that were struck by this tree limb that crashed to the ground in the City Plaza around 4:30pm Friday. The pine tree limb split from the tree trunk and fell during the peak of the weekly...

WATSONVILLE—An art studio and performance center for Pajaro Valley Arts, or an Italian restaurant, boutique hotel and creative office space for the Pajaronian?  The Watsonville City Council is expected to decide the fate of the historic Porter Building during the closed session of its virtual...

Note: Reporter Tony Nuñez contributed to this story WATSONVILLE—Thousands of Santa Cruz County residents living in the county’s northern reaches have been ordered to evacuate as the CZU August Lightning Complex fires have spread throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains. Temporary shelters have been set up across...