News

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville firefighters responded to a fire Friday afternoon that seriously damaged a home and displaced one resident. It is unclear what caused the blaze, which started around 1:15 p.m. at 11 Jeanette Way.  Mike Vaz said he has lived in the house more than 30 years. He...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council will consider appointing Rene Mendez, the current chief executive for the city of Gonzales, as Watsonville’s new city manager during its Tuesday evening meeting.  Mendez has three decades of experience in state, county and city government and has spent the last...

WATSONVILLE—Two men accused of stealing an SUV were arrested Monday after an off-duty Watsonville Police officer spotted the pair casing vehicles in a neighborhood off of Lighthouse Drive. Christian Torres, 18, and Jesus Torres, 19, face charges for vehicle theft, petty theft, and for obstructing...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The county’s first Filipino American judge was recently appointed as a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge by Gov. Gavin Newsom. “My knees went weak when I got the call,” said Jerry Bustos Vinluan III. “I was overwhelmed. It was later in the...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal to allow restaurants and businesses in the unincorporated areas of the county to use their parking lots for outdoor eating and shopping areas.  The plan was designed to help ease...

SANTA CRUZ—Based on updated information and in response to concerns from the commercial Dungeness crab fleet, including written requests from Port Associations to further delay, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham has delayed the start date for the California Dungeness...

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...

MONTEREY COUNTY—Monterey County agriculture’s gross production value bounced back by 4.8% in 2021 to just over $4.1 billion, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that also resulted in supply chain shortages. This increase represents a $190 million rise from 2020, when the gross production value was...

A man considered a sexual predator was arrested Wednesday morning in Capitola when Capitola Police and U.S. Marshals served a federal search warrant on the 1100 block of Sutherland Lane.  George Paul Bishop was wanted for failing to register as a violent child sex offender,...