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Watsonville
January 11, 2025

Prison in Paradise; Santa Cruz County Jail criticized in annual Grand Jury review

santa cruz main jail
By Alesandro Manzella Many people who are arrested and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail not only lose their freedom, but also access to health care and mental health services. That's according to a report released June 11 by the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury. Lack of...

New medallions honor history in Memorial Park

Watsonville artist Kathleen Crocetti has created  two mosaic medallions for the City of Watsonville, which were installed recently at Memorial Park, located at the confluence of Freedom Boulevard and Main Street. One depicts a dragon, and is a modern play written by Watsonville’s Steve Spike...

Vallarta Supermarket opens for business

Hundreds of people lined up outside the new Vallarta Supermarket Wednesday morning, hoping to be one of the first 300 inside to score a free bag of groceries and to see the gleaming, 55,000 square foot store. But even for those that missed that prize,...

Annual homeless census shows positive trends, with bad news

After Santa Cruz County last year saw a drop in the numbers of unhoused people, the numbers this year from the annual Point In Time (PIT) count conducted in January stayed mostly static. The PIT Count is an estimate of the number of people experiencing...

Fully restored Castro Adobe ready for visitors

It was 17 years ago that a group of volunteers began to restore the Rancho San Andreas Castro Adobe, a structure whose endurance over its 176-year lifespan helps paint a picture of California history. Now fully restored and equipped with interpretative displays, touchable exhibits and...

Watsonville man arrested for child sex crimes

A Watsonville man was arrested Monday for alleged sex crimes involving a child, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office announced. Eric Martinez-Villanueva, 21, was arrested  without incident at his residence along the 10 block of Lassen Way, Monterey County Sheriff’s Commander Andres Rosas stated in a...

Teens found with large amount of drugs

Two teenagers were arrested recently by Capitola Police after officers found them with a large amount of drugs. Capitola Police said the two juveniles were stopped  for public intoxication. During a search, police found hundreds of Xanax-style pills, 30 grams of psilocybin “magic mushrooms,” several...

Car crash cuts utility pole in half

 A driver shot off of Casserly Road Monday in Watsonville and slammed into a utility pole, splitting it in two. The California Highway Patrol said the driver, who fled the scene on foot, shot off the pavement around 1pm while traveling north on Casserly just...

Moving upward with Adult school

Editor’s note: this story is a preview for the graduation section that will come out on Friday. We will do our best to highlight all the schools that held ceremonies. Over 90 students crossed the stage in front of a full house at the Henry...

Beach death being investigated

A man died at Moran Beach along East Cliff Drive in Live Oak Friday. Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff'’s Office identified the victim as Hans Materne, 45, of Atlanta, Ga.   The Sheriff’s Office said deputies, Harbor Patrol, State Parks, and fire personnel were...
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Watsonville names Patrick Rodriguez, 37, new softball head coach

Watsonville High this week announced it promoted Patrick Rodriguez as the newest head coach for the softball team. The 37-year-old Watsonville native will take the...