News

WATSONVILLE—Second Harvest Food Bank volunteer Paul Garcia knows the importance of giving back to his community. “I was a heroin addict for many years… I tore this town up,” he said. “So now I’m giving back.” Garcia has been a volunteer for Second Harvest for 11...

Watsonville Fire Capt. Matt Ryan (right) pays thanks to fellow firefighters from multiple agencies, various police, family and friends Tuesday morning at a farewell breakfast on his final shift as a firefighter. Born in 1962 at the old Watsonville Community Hospital, Ryan said he...

PAJARO VALLEY—Long-standing realtor Renee Mello was recently named Realtor of the Year for 2021 by the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors. A broker associate with Keller Williams, Mello, a third-generation Watsonville native, said she was stunned and “truly honored” to have been picked out...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville will have yet another tool that it could use to try to fix its housing shortage if the City Council follows the Planning Commission’s recommendations to approve wholesale changes to rules for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as “granny flats” or “granny...

WATSONVILLE—A new mural against an exterior wall of the new Adult and Children’s Behavioral Health facility in the County complex on Freedom Boulevard is nearing completion.  Watsonville artist Bruce Harman said he started the massive work at the end of August and has squeezed in...

Thousands of people lined Main Street in downtown Watsonville to take in the Spirit of Watsonville Fourth of July parade Tuesday.  Under warm and sunny skies, 69 entries in the parade filed along the closed-off street offering live music, cheerleaders, dazzling hydraulic lifted cars, classic...

UPDATE (Aug. 21, 6:33am) Firefighters and law enforcement officers were pulled away for three separate rescue incidents to save residents who were trying to protect their homes from the CZU August Lightning Complex fires, which have now charred 50,000 acres, or roughly 78 square miles,...

Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks on Tuesday announced the launch of Kids2Parks (K2P), a new program created to bring students from Title 1 schools on State Park field trips.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) recently announced nearly $1.4 million in Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to expand local Covid-19 vaccination efforts. Funding will support health centers across the congressional district to administer updated COVID-19 vaccines. Salud Para La Gente...

WATSONVILLE—Drive-thrus will be back on the Watsonville City Council’s menu at Tuesday’s meeting. The council will hear an appeal of a Planning Commission decision from late last year that stopped the development of a proposed business park at Main Street and Auto Center Drive. Boos Development...