News

WATSONVILLE—The historic Derpich Building in downtown Watsonville is coming alive once again after being acquired by two sisters with a big vision.   Jennifer Santillana and Tabitha Stroup found the property for rent when strolling down Main Street. Stroup, owner of Friend in Cheeses Jam Co....

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police arrested three people over a 10-day period on suspicion of committing sex crimes against children. Daniel Alanis, 39, was arrested Dec. 2 in Salinas and charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts against a child under 14. He was booked into Santa Cruz...

While food banks act as the safety net against hunger, CalFresh (formerly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) is the first line of defense. CalFresh’s goal is to improve the health and well-being of people who qualify for the program in every community. It...

WATSONVILLE—Ella’s at the Airport opened at Watsonville Municipal Airport in 2015, and since then has garnered a large following of customers. Owner Ella King, who at the time also owned the popular Cafe Ella, took the building—closed for one year after the previous restaurant was...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Community Redistricting Advisory Committee at its penultimate meeting on Tuesday advanced two proposed redistricting plans to its final meeting later this month. Both would keep the current seven districts mostly intact, a key goal of the committee because of a possible undercount in...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville native Lou Arbanas was considered by many to be a living encyclopedia for his knowledge of the history of the Pajaro Valley. A longtime fixture at the Pajaro Valley Historical Association, Arbanas died Nov. 14 after a brief illness. He was 78. “He was...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) Board of Directors on Thursday approved a spending plan for $11.2 million in state and federal funding, which will be allocated over a wide range of transportation-related projects countywide. The funding includes $4.5 million from...

WATSONVILLE—Local author Jaime Cortez always had nicknames, and now one of them has become his first book. “Gordo,” a paperback collection of stories, is quickly gathering praise after its release by a national publisher in August. And while “Gordo” is Cortez’s first widely distributed work,...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Mónica Morales was 2 years old when her family immigrated from Mexico to Watsonville. She grew up attending local elementary schools, graduating from Watsonville High School while her mother worked in nearby agriculture fields and canneries. This background, she said, is sure to...

MONTEREY COUNTY—A federal magistrate has declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have temporarily stopped Monterey County from evicting a group of people from an unsanctioned campsite along the Pajaro River Levee. In her ruling, Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen said that the plaintiffs...