News

The County of Santa Cruz on Friday released a draft ordinance that would regulate the development of future Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). By crafting the ordinance, the county seeks to maintain local control over where BESS facilities are located, and how they are operated. The...

More than 150 people gathered at Watsonville High School on Oct. 17 for the official opening of the athletic field’s new bleachers and announcer's booth.  Principal Joe Gregorio welcomed the crowd at Geiser Field that included former principals Elaine Legoretta, Murray Shekman and Nancy Bilicich.  Gregorio...

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...

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...

For years, Santa Cruz County lacked a youth crisis center, meaning that young people experiencing a mental health crisis were taken to overloaded emergency rooms, the county’s adult psychiatric facility or were shifted to out-of-county facilities, away from their families. That problem will end in...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta was in Santa Cruz County on Thursday to announce the arrest of 22 people who are facing a total of 32 felony charges stemming from multiple burglaries of marijuana dispensaries throughout the Bay Area. Dubbed “Operation Sticky Fingers,” the arrests...

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously appointed Undersheriff Chris Clark to take the agency’s lead role, a decision that was backed by several members of the public and the leaders of numerous agencies that addressed the board. This included both Santa...

Two people were injured Tuesday morning after a man slammed into a school bus holding dozens of students. The collision on the 900 block of Green Valley Road north of Casserly Road at 7:30am caused the bus to burst into flames. The driver, a 28-year-old male...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday will consider ways in which the bandstand in the center of Watsonville Plaza could be renovated, and what to do with the antique cannons. Built in 1906 by architect William Weeks, the bandstand is both a part of Watsonville's...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday will consider appointing Tamara Vides as its new City Manager. Vides served as interim City Manager in 2021 and more recently in April.  She has held various positions during her 15-year career with the city. This includes Deputy City Manager...