News

AROMAS—The community of Aromas is home to about 2,650 residents. The rural area is nestled in the juncture between Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, and attracts a variety of people, including many retirees, artists, farmers, nature lovers and activists.  But is also home...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Gyms, barbershops, beauty salons, places of worship and shopping malls across Santa Cruz County will all have to close their indoor services on Tuesday, county health officials announced Monday. Retail and existing outdoor restaurant operations are unaffected by the new county health orders...

WATSONVILLE—All major City of Watsonville events have been canceled through the end of the year, City Manager Matt Huffaker said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. That includes the annual Spirit of Watsonville Fourth of July Parade, the Watsonville Strawberry Festival and the Wine, Beer and...

By JAKE PIERCE, Good Times APTOS—The site of the old SeaBreeze Tavern caught fire Sunday night after 9pm, and the blaze quickly grew out of control. Watsonville Fire Battalion Chief Corey Schaefer said units responded to a reported fire on the Esplanade in Aptos. When they...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man who killed his wife and left her body in a vehicle in Santa Cruz—before fleeing to Mexico where he was arrested at the border—was sentenced Oct. 28 to at least 20 years in state prison. Cesar Hernandez, 49, has been in Santa...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police say they are taking seriously threats made on social media of a “barbaric protest” that is set to begin at the Overlook Shopping Center on Main Street at 5pm. The garish yellow flier that circulated widely featured a drawing of George Floyd, who...

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Monday arrested a Santa Cruz man on several felony sex crimes, sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said. Lucas Klatt, 39, was charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child, annoying or molesting a child and burglary. Klatt is known...

A group of state lawmakers and local medical providers gathered Tuesday at the Santa Cruz Community Health Center in Live Oak to sound the alarm on President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). Despite its name, the bill will remove millions of people...

The monthly First Friday Art Tour is gaining traction in Santa Cruz, especially over the summer when blended with the Cooper Street Festival.

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council approved two housing developments at its Tuesday night meeting, paving the way for 103 new apartments on two of the city’s major arterial roads. Both projects nearly received unanimous approvals. Bill and Neva Hansen’s 50-unit, market-rate apartment complex on Main Street,...