Monica Martinez to be first LGBTQ County Supervisor
When Monica Martinez is sworn in to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in January, she will be one of two women to take seats on the dais in more than a decade.
She will also be the first openly LGBTQ person to serve...
Watsonville council declines to place ceasefire resolution on agenda
The Watsonville City Council on Jan. 16 declined to place a resolution on the Feb. 13 meeting agenda to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The motion by Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter failed 6-1, capping off a meeting that began when she called for...
City Completes Sports Court Upgrades at Callaghan Park
A lively ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at Callaghan Park in Watsonville as officials, sports fans and citizens celebrated the opening of six new pickleball courts.
Decision in Michael Escobar trial expected soon
SANTA CRUZ—After Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Johanna Schonfield displayed for a jury a photo of 4-year-old Jaelyn Zavala dying from a bullet wound – and as jurors and the girl’s family members wept at the sight – she turned to the man accused...
Car bursts into flames after pursuit
A sedan is fully engulfed in flames Wednesday on the Buena Vista exit in Watsonville
Local students heading to national Invention Convention
It’s no secret that traffic around Ceiba College Preparatory Academy can get heavy at the beginning and end of the school day, when hundreds of parents drop off and pick up their children and scores of students brave the intersections and walkways on foot.
School...
City Council hearing various park plans
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at Tuesday’s meeting is expected to make a decision on a long-awaited park project at Ramsay Park that would create a haven for the area’s mountain bikers.
City staff is proposing that the old Ramsay Park skatepark on the Harkins Slough...
Swallows’ nests a joy, headache at PV High
The annual return of the cliff swallows to the Watsonville area can be a treat for bird enthusiasts, who marvel at their ability to migrate from as far away as Argentina, and then cobble their nests from thousands of beakfuls of mud on cliffs and buildings.
Thousands attend Strawberry Festival
Thousands of visitors poured into the 25th annual Watsonville Strawberry Festival over the weekend to relish the cash crop of the Pajaro Valley.
New law protects children in custody cases
Nearly one year ago, court-ordered strangers took a teenage girl and her younger brother from their relative’s home in Santa Cruz and brought them to Los Angeles, where they were forced into a controversial family therapy program with their mother.
They were then taken to...
Powerful storms clobber Central Coast
A string of strong winter storms slammed the Central Coast over the past several days, toppling power and communication lines, knocking down scores of...
