News

A Santa Cruz man died after a shark attacked him at Sand Dollar Beach, which is part of Manresa State Beach. Ben Kelly, 26, was pronounced dead on the shore in front of Cañon del Sol, a gated community of 97 townhome units on...

WATSONVILLE—Second Harvest Food Bank has a new leader. The organization on Thursday announced that Erica Padilla-Chavez will take the helm as CEO in July after Willy Elliot-McCrea retires, and as the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary. In accepting the position, Padilla-Chavez will leave her post as...

Gordon Leroy Holley, better known as Lee Holley, whose comic strip “Ponytail” ran in 300 newspapers across the U.S. including the Register-Pajaronian, died March 26 when his small plane crashed at Marina Municipal Airport. He was 85.

SANTA CRUZ—REI, an outdoor retail business with 168 stores in 39 states, plans to open a location in Santa Cruz, the company announced on Feb. 18. The 22,622-square-foot store will be located at 1660 Commercial Way, the giant warehouse that formerly held Toys “R” Us....

PRUNEDALE—A horse that had gone missing in Prunedale for two weeks is now back home and healthy after suffering a bizarre plunge into a large mud pit. North Monterey County Fire Division Chief Jess Mendoza said his crew got a call about a horse rescue...

Firefighters from several agencies combat a wild land fire on the shoulder of Highway 1 just south of South Green Valley Road Monday in Watsonville.

WATSONVILLE—A line of students from a variety of Watsonville schools on Wednesday filed through the Youth N.O.W. facility loading their backpacks with school supplies—from paper, tape and paints, to notebooks, pens and glue. “It’s emotional. It’s emotional for my staff, it’s emotional for me …...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Four new battery-electric buses will be ready to roll through the county by fall 2021 as part of METRO’s public transportation fleet. The first two electric buses of the quartet will be used for the Zero-Emission Watsonville Circulator Operating Project. Through the project,...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council approved a trio of contracts for significant impending roadway and planning work on Nov. 15. The largest contract of the four is a $4.2 million agreement with Gilroy-based McKim Corporation for the long-awaited reconstruction of Freedom Boulevard between Alta Vista Avenue...

Tarmo Hannula: Chilly weather has gripped much of California as a cold front wandered into the region Sunday. I was in San Francisco Sunday morning and it was plain to see, and feel, as a huge gray blade of clouds slowly sliced across the...