News

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council appointed Rene Mendez, the current chief executive for the city of Gonzales, as Watsonville’s new city manager during its Tuesday meeting.  Mendez has three decades of experience in state, county and city government and has spent the last 17 years as...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville gang member who led officers on a brief foot chase on New Year’s Day has been booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail. Geovanni Lopez, 32, faces several charges, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and resisting arrest. Lopez, who had...

SOQUEL—A Soquel woman was arrested Friday after allegedly hitting a motorcyclist while driving under the influence of drugs. Karen Veninga-Zaricor, 31, was charged with DUI causing great bodily injury. She was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail, jail records showed. According...

A Watsonville man was sentenced to 25 years and 8 months in state prison for human trafficking, sexual assault and drug crimes, Santa Cruz County District Attorney, Jeffrey Rosell announced Monday. Luis Alberto Salas pleaded no contest on Aug. 29 to multiple counts of human...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police on Thursday arrested 27-year-old twin brothers for allegedly stabbing two men on the 100 block of Grant Street on Aug. 30, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. Angel Sanchez was arrested in Watsonville. Victor Sanchez was arrested in San Jose. Both were booked...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville City Councilman Lowell Hurst has held office on and off since first being elected to the council in 1988. Typically, the seasoned politician takes fellow council members and the attendees of Watsonville City Council meetings back in time, and provides perspective on community...

Special events Open Farm Tours (Oct. 12-13) Due to the increase in attendance at the 2018 tours, an additional day has been added this year so people can visit more farms without being rushed. Fourteen family-owned farms will participate in this year’s tours. All farms implement sustainable...

The American Crown Circus, Circo Osorio, has set up at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds for a series of shows. From clowns and jugglers to acrobats and magicians, the variety show, designed for people of all ages, will run several times a day through...

No injuries were reported in this solo-vehicle crash early Tuesday morning. Watsonville Police Sgt. Mike Ridgway said a motorist accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake pedal in her Honda sedan around 6:30am. Her car plowed through a fence as shown here...

CORRALITOS—Bradley Elementary School third-grader Kylie Barnard loves animals. She has grown up around horses, goats, dogs and more—and she knows they can sometimes escape from their pens.  That is why she invented the Animal Rescue Pouch, a small pouch attached to an animal’s collar or...