News

More than 400 area students were given a running start for the upcoming school year when they were presented with free backpacks loaded with school supplies Saturday in an upbeat gathering in Watsonville Plaza.  Thanks to the Salvation Army in Watsonville, Freedom Rotary Club, Scouting...

About 150 people gathered in Santa Cruz July 17, for a third meeting held over the past few months to send the message that proposed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Watsonville, Aptos and Santa Cruz are not welcome. “These folks are pursuing these systems...

An early-morning fire that broke out at a mobile home in the Portola Heights Mobile Home Park on Freedom Boulevard Tuesday is being investigated as an attempted murder. Duane Hawkins, 65, arrived at the home and started the fire following an argument, Watsonville Police spokeswoman...

Three people were injured Tuesday morning when a fire broke out at a mobile home in the Portola Heights Mobile Home park on Freedom Boulevard. The fire erupted at 7:15am in unit 25 on Cresti Way. One neighbor who used the name Erika said she ran...

A 17-year-old male was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murdering Marcelino Calixto Pastrana behind a Castroville market on June 26.  The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said a search is ongoing for a second juvenile suspect who they believe to be armed and dangerous. On July 16,...

On Wednesday morning, law enforcement officials from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Cannabis Control, the FBI and the DEA amassed at a business on the 1400 block of San Juan Road in Monterey County to serve a search warrant...

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved contracts with Watsonville Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office to place uniformed law enforcement officials at the district’s three comprehensive high schools as school resource officers (SROs). These SROs will...

As the usual weekday rush-hour traffic began to build up on Highway 1 in Mid-County Wednesday afternoon, it appeared that commuters were facing yet another interminable slog on their way to their destinations. But one thing was different. The first pedestrians and bicyclists began to use...

Five new painted monoliths now adorn the recently completed pedestrian/bike path along Green Valley Road. The Green Valley Road Multi-Use Project was managed by the Department of Community Development & Infrastructure, while the art component was managed by the Santa Cruz County Parks Department....