News

One week after announcing that funding woes could force local Head Start and early Head Start programs to close, Encompass Community Services—which oversees the programs—announced that they will remain open through Oct. 31. The announcement means that the 250 families that depend on the early...

More than half of pregnant women in Monterey County are exposed to pesticides believed to be harmful to their fetuses, and a quarter of the pesticide used in California is applied in Monterey County. Those statistics are part of a study released Sept. 30 by...

Georgeann Cowles Eiskamp, a Watsonville native known for her volunteerism and steadfast dedication to her community, who successfully ran Cowles Berry Farm, and who helped shape the Down To Earth Women Luncheon as co-founder and the first board co-chair, died Sept. 22 of natural...

About 40,000 Santa Cruz County residents who depend on Medi-Cal—more than half of the 78,000 people with that coverage—could lose it after the passage of H.R. 1—President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). That was the message Tuesday from Santa Cruz County Human Services...

The annual Santa Cruz County Open Studios Art Tour, which showcases dozens of artists around the county in their studios, is set to welcome the public starting Oct. 4. To prime the public with a wide range of what’s on deck, the Pajaro Valley Arts...

A 51-year-old male bicyclist died early Tuesday morning in a hit-and-run crash at the intersection of South Green Valley Road and Carey Avenue.  Watsonville Police said the bicyclist, who has not been identified, died at the hospital Wednesday night. The crash happened shortly after 6am. The...

Encompass Community Services in Santa Cruz announced Wednesday that its Head Start and Early Head Start programs are facing an immediate funding crisis due to sudden federal policy changes.  Unless funds are restored, the organization said, Encompass will be forced to close 15 classrooms and...

After years of holding performances in their school’s wrestling room and in various spaces around campus, students at Pajaro Valley High School now have a new theater—albeit a temporary one—as they await future construction of a performing arts center. District officials—along with elected leaders from...

A Watsonville man suffered minor injuries Monday when he lost control of his Toyota Tundra pickup and rolled upside down on a hillside on Highway 1 in Watsonville. The California Highway Patrol said no other vehicles were involved. The man was entering southbound Highway...

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...