News

The man who kidnapped, raped and murdered an 8-year-old girl before placing her body in a recycling bin in 2015 will spend at least another two years in prison. After less than a week of deliberations, a jury denied Adrian “A.J.” Gonzlaez’s bid for parole...

The 2025 Annual Fairgrounds Foundation Crab Feed is set for March 1 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.  The event will feature live music, a no host bar, prizes and a silent auction, with winners to be drawn and posted during the dinner.  “We also will...

A Watsonville man was arrested Thursday morning on allegations of sexual abuse of a minor at a Watsonville daycare facility. Ramon Castillo-Ruiz, 28, was charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, and possession of a controlled substance. He was booked into...

Close to 100 people gathered Saturday in Moss Landing to voice their concern and demand better information about the fire that tore through a battery storage facility at the Moss Landing Power Plant on Jan. 16 Brian Roeder, a spokesman for the group Never Again...

Prosecution and defense painted sharply varying pictures of Adrian “A.J.”Gonzalez in closing arguments  in Superior Court Tuesday, and a jury will now determine whether the 25-year-old can be released after serving his sentence for the 2015 murder of 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton. Prosecutor Tara George...

Ashley Bridges (second from left), executive director of Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes, leads a tour of the renovated kitchen at Loaves and Fishes on Second Street Wednesday. Thanks to support Driscoll’s Charitable Fund and the Solari family, the job included replacing water-damaged wood...

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday rejected a pair of staff recommendations to cut roughly 100 teacher and school employee positions, a move district officials said will cause greater financial peril in the future. Opponents of the cuts disagreed, saying...

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has issued evacuation orders for hundreds of people in the north and south areas of the county after heavy rains fell overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning. Residents living near Holohan Road, Laken Drive and College Road in Watsonville...

Nearly eight years after taking the helm at Cabrillo College, President Matt Wetstein has announced his retirement. Wetstein will work through Dec. 31 to allow the Board of Trustees time to hire a new president, the college announced in a press release on Monday. The Cabrillo...