News

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at Tuesday night’s meeting voted to move the George Washington statue from the City Plaza to the Watsonville Public Library. The motion, put forth by councilwoman Rebecca Garcia, passed 5-2 with council members Ari Parker and Lowell Hurst dissenting. Parker and...

Pajaro Valley Arts is preparing for its first show in 2026, an annual members’ exhibit titled “Welcome Home.”  Curated by first-time curator Jim Turner, the exhibit will feature 150 artists and will run from Jan. 13-Feb. 21 in the historic Porter Building in downtown Watsonville.  “We...

Observations from the Pajaro Valley and beyond.

Since the start of the pandemic, Cabrillo Gallery has had to adapt exhibits through its website and social media. But the gallery’s newest show, “Bearing Witness: Manifesting Black History from Photographic Archives,” is one that might not have existed outside a virtual format. “Honestly, it’s...

WATSONVILLE—A man wanted for an attempted murder in Watsonville on Jan. 7 was arrested Tuesday during a high-risk traffic stop. Ian Coetzee, 21, was charged with attempted murder. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $375,000 bail, jail records showed. According to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—In a 6-6 vote, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) on Thursday narrowly rejected a business plan for the design, construction and operation of a passenger rail line along the 32-mile stretch from Davenport to Pajaro, which could mean, at...

An ongoing investigation involving regional, federal and international authorities has led Watsonville Police Department detectives to identify two women suspected of stealing more than $100,000 from a local jewelry store. The mother-daughter duo, 53-year-old Onita Rostas and 30-year-old Steluta Lacatus, are wanted throughout the United...

Yesenia Pavez, 27, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail. She was not in custody Wednesday morning, jail records showed.

SANTA CRUZ—The man who allegedly fatally shot Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller in Ben Lomond last year during a violent crime spree waived his preliminary hearing Monday in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. The move means Steven Carrillo, who appeared in the courtroom...

Alianza Charter School eighth-graders Yaviana Prado (from left), Ivan Garcia, Isabella Orejel, Jazmin Castañeda and Ala Ruiz show a sampling of the more than 100 gifts their class rounded up for foster kids over the holidays in the class of Cornelio Garcia.