News

More than 20 restaurants in Santa Cruz County will celebrate the art of pizza making during Santa Cruz Pizza Week, which kicks off Jan. 29.  Local restaurants from around the county are on board for the coordinated promotion, which features special pies, slices and prices. The...

On Saturday, two annual events were combined in the Watsonville Library’s upstairs meeting room: the annual meeting of the Friends of the Watsonville Library and Volunteer Appreciation Day.

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival announced the launch of its 2023 Cine Se Puede Fellowship, a program designed to support emerging Latine filmmakers in the region.  The fellowship is a year-long program that provides funding, mentorship, industry connections, workshops and master classes, as well as peer...

SALINAS—The  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved more than $2.8 million in funding for the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project, Congressman Jimmy Panetta announced Tuesday. The funding will be used to complete the preconstruction, engineering, and design (PED) phase of the project in...

WATSONVILLE—Former Watsonville Fire Assistant Chief Gene Friend, a household name for many in the Pajaro Valley, died March 25 at Valley Convalescent in Watsonville.  Watsonville Fire Station 1 is emblazoned with his name in large letters as the namesake of the Chief Gene Friend Watsonville...

A large altar has been set up on the 700 block of McKenzie Avenue in Watsonville where Van Michael Turner was shot and killed Aug. 4. Family and friends have placed flowers, votive candles, photos and more at the site. One family member confirmed...

WATSONVILLE—Twenty-five Japanese Americans who were imprisoned in World War II incarceration camps signed a United States flag Sunday at the Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL Kizuka Hall to make their mark on history. Part of the Japanese American Incarceration Memorial Legacy Project, the event drew people who...

Abandoned, wrecked, disabled and inoperable vehicles parked on public roadways in the county’s unincorporated areas have long bedeviled residents—who say they are eyesores—as well as law enforcement officials, who were reluctant to have them towed. That’s because county ordinance—which allowed towing of abandoned RVs and...

WATSONVILLE—Young people in South County suffering from mental health crises now have the option of a response that does not have to involve hospitalization. The South County Mobile Emergency Response Team for Youth (MERTY) was created to provide community and field-based crisis intervention services to...