News

The fifth annual Tequila & Taco Music Festival, a two-day celebration of tequilas, tacos, margaritas and music, returns to San Lorenzo Park, 137 Dakota St. in Santa Cruz, Aug. 25-26.

CLOSE CALL Firefighters douse hot spots in a brush fire that erupted on the 300 block of Amesti Road Friday. An official from CalFire said the 3:20pm brush fire climbed to two acres before firefighters from Pajaro Valley Fire District, Watsonville and Central Fire...

On Monday, the City of Santa Cruz will hold its Martin Luther King march, an event co-hosted by the city’s NAACP chapter and its police department.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a proposal to set term limits on their positions, saying that the current system of letting voters decide who fills the seats is sufficient. The proposal by 4th District Supervisor Greg Caput would...

Just over three decades ago, a group of people set out on a 545-mile bicycle journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles, a weeklong trek that took them along rugged coastlines, through verdant agricultural fields and along vast stretches of highway. Then called the California...

WATSONVILLE—For the first time ever, the city of Watsonville has its very own poet laureate. Longtime resident Robert Gómez will for the next two years be working to advance the literary arts throughout the Pajaro Valley.  A poet laureate is appointed by a government or...

SACRAMENTO—A bill that would increase protections for California’s farmworkers during hazardous smoky conditions created by seasonal wildfires is making its way through the state legislature. Assembly Bill 73, also known as the Farmworker Wildfire Smoke Protections Act, recently passed the Assembly Committee on Labor and...

A man who has worked for Pajaro valley Unified School District for more than a decade was arrested Sept. 3 on sexual assault charges. Ivan Alcaraz, 37, was charged with oral copulation of an unconscious person. He was out of custody after posting $50,000 bail,...

A man was arrested Thursday night on the 700 block of Palm Avenue on suspicion of attempted murder. With the help of SWAT officers Watsonville Police tracked down Francisco Aceves, 25, on suspicion of shooting a 42-year-old man at the Sofspra Car Wash on the...

SANTA CRUZ—The fate of Santa Cruz County’s rail line is now in the hands of the voters. The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-0 to place on the June 7 ballot an initiative which, if successful, would amend Santa Cruz County’s...