Music in the Plaza concerts wrap up next month
The Chicano All Stars perform at the Watsonville City Plaza Thursday evening to a crowd of more than 100 people. The free live concerts are part of the city's Music in the Plaza Concert Series. Up next, on Oct. 29 at 6pm, the city...
Watsonville man sentenced for double-fatal DUI crash
SALINAS—A Watsonville man who was driving drunk when he killed two people last year will spend eight years and eight months in prison, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni announced.
Joel Gonzalez, 22, pleaded no contest to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated...
Aptos man, 75, dies in Hwy 129 crash
AROMAS—A 75-year-old Aptos man died Sept. 24 in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 129, or Riverside Road, at Rogge Lane near Aromas.
Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Dean Peppas.
Alyssa Gutierrez of the California Highway Patrol said Peppas...
Watsonville Yoga Dance & Healing Arts embraces new location
After a year and a half of pandemic challenges, Watsonville Yoga Dance & Healing Arts is once again finding its footing.
The business is settling into its new location (734 East Lake Ave. #16) while expanding its programming and services for children and adults both...
New book dives into Big Basin’s history
Before the CZU Lightning Complex fires decimated Big Basin Redwoods State Park, visitors who hiked the trails and camped beneath the redwoods saw different things: towering trees; various and beautiful flora and fauna; abundant wildlife, babbling brooks and starry skies.
But when Traci Bliss went...
Monterey Bay Model Yacht Club sails on
WATSONVILLE—The sails are trimmed tight, the masts lean toward the water’s edge and the rudders carve a steady path around the final buoy toward the finish line. As a gentle breeze nudges the lead sailboat—just one meter long—to a victory, the hollers fill the...
Photo: Then & now at the County Fair
Novella Evans is shown is in 1999 in Watsonville at age 5 in a photo to promote the upcoming Santa Cruz County Fair with her Bantam Cochin chicken, Cluck-Cluck. She is shown again 22 years later at the 2021 County Fair with another Bantam...
Health Trust honors local leaders | News Briefs
Eight local healthcare leaders were recognized for their contributions to health throughout the past year.
The Community Health Trust (CHT), which serves the tri-county area to ensure equitable health, awarded two organizations and six individuals with the Phil Rather Award for Leadership in Healthcare. Rather...
PG&E responds to local power outages
SOUTH COUNTY—Saying that the outages South Santa Cruz County’s rural residents have experienced “are not acceptable,” Pacific, Gas and Electric Company representatives told the public Thursday that they are currently adjusting equipment throughout the area in hopes of lessening the length and occurrence of...
Complaints about homelessness mount in Watsonville
WATSONVILLE—On many days, when groups of school kids crowd into Conchita’s Ice Cream in Plaza Vigil for an afternoon treat, handfuls of people experiencing homelessness show up, some pushing shopping carts loaded with their possessions through the store and others demanding free items.
The people,...
Measure N Milestones: Transparency, Progress, and Community Impact
When voters across the Pajaro Valley Health Care District approved Measure N in March 2024, they sent a clear and powerful message: our community...