News

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Fair is on the search for a theme for the 2022 edition of the Fair. Manager Dave Kegebein recently announced the return of the annual contest. Kegebein said anyone can submit theme ideas that should reflect the spirit of the County...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville City Councilman Jimmy Dutra announced on Jan. 29 that he will run for the 4th District seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. It will be the third time that Dutra, who is fresh off his stint as Watsonville’s mayor in 2021,...

WATSONVILLE—In 2012, voters within the Pajaro Valley Unified School District approved Measure L, a $150 million bond that has funded construction and rehabilitation projects at nearly every facility in the district. And, one decade after its passage, the bond is drawing to a close. According to...

WATSONVILLE—It has been almost three years since Beer Mule, a taproom offering an extensive list of brews and food offerings, opened its doors inside of a restored WWII-era building at the Watsonville Municipal Airport. That moment marked the birth of the Watsonville Hangar business complex,...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to transition cases from the current public defender’s office to the newly minted Office of the Public Defender, which is slated to officially launch on July 1. The new office...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Jan. 19 took its first look at the ways the district’s boundaries could be redrawn during the decennial redistricting process. During redistricting, jurisdictions use the recent census to see how their populations have grown over...

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday arrested a Watsonville man on numerous sex charges involving a minor. Carlos Gomez Velasco, 39, has been charged with oral copulation with a minor, contacting a minor for sexual purposes, sexual battery and contributing to the delinquency of...

SCOTTS VALLEY—The California Highway Patrol has arrested two people they say shot at a CHP officer Tuesday night in Scotts Valley. Alexandria Luevanos, 41, of Berkeley, and Kristopher Payopay, 40, of Lathrop, were arrested after officers said they led them on a chase down Highway...

WATSONVILLE—The streets of Watsonville continue to get tidied up thanks to an ever-expanding group of people experiencing homelessness that bands together and hits the streets under the WatsonvilleWorks! program. Founded in September 2019 by a group of human services leaders, the program has thus far...

WATSONVILLE—A man who tried to burglarize a Watsonville residence Wednesday is in custody after a woman living there fought him off and held him there with the help of her teen children, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said in a press release. Salvador Leonor, 48,...