News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—During 2021, 95 people died while homeless, a distressing increase from the 58 who died last year and 77 in 2019.  Those numbers, delivered Tuesday during the 23rd annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day ceremony, were more than an ugly milestone, said David Davis,...

WATSONVILLE—After operating for years in Santa Cruz, Elderday Adult Day Health Care will soon relocate to Watsonville. The move comes thanks to a $2.5 million grant from Central California Alliance for Health, which Elderday will use to purchase and modernize the space at 521 Main...

WATSONVILLE—Situated along the western coast of São Jorge Island in Portugal is Velas, a historic port town with a population of just over 5,580 people. Located in the Azores, the city is one of the oldest settlements on the island, boasting incredible ocean views...

Police search a vehicle and home on the 500 block of Green Valley Road Wednesday. A Watsonville man was arrested near the home on suspicion of robbing the Rite Aid store on Freedom Boulevard just 24 hours earlier. Watsonville spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said police were...

WATSONVILLE—The city of Watsonville and a local homeless union have come to an agreement that will dismantle the encampment on Bridge Street where some 25 people are currently staying. The two parties hammered out the terms of the agreement in a whirlwind series of telephonic...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Since it was launched in December of last year, the County of Santa Cruz’s Neighborhood Courts Program (NCP) has rerouted 45 misdemeanor criminal cases away from the traditional justice system and out into the community.  A restorative justice-based program of the County District...

PAJARO—For more than 30 years, the Casa de la Cultura organization in Pajaro has held its annual Food and Gift Christmas Giveaway, offering families a chance to receive free presents, food, clothing and more during the holiday season. Sister Rosa Dolores Rodriguez, executive director of...

WATSONVILLE—The city of Watsonville is planning to follow through on a plan to clean out a homeless encampment on Bridge Street early Wednesday morning. The decision to stick to the ultimatum given to the 25 or so people staying in the parking lot on Sunday—the...

WATSONVILLE—He was seen by hundreds joyfully riding an early day, bright red Farmall tractor at the front of the recently opened Staff of Life Natural Foods Market in the East Lake Village Shopping Center in Watsonville. With both hands clutching the steering wheel and a...

CORRALITOS—A man and a woman of Watsonville were seriously injured on Dec. 17 in a head-on crash between two pickups on Freedom Boulevard. California Highway Patrol officer Alyssa Gutierrez said Levi Barnard, 39, of Watsonville, was driving a white 2018 GMC Sierra Denali pickup west...