News

Rob and Jolynn Diepenbroek, with their dog, Loki, check out rows of early-day cars at the weekly Cars and Coffee event in East Lake Village Shopping Center. The free Saturday gathering, from 9-11am at 936 E. Lake Ave. in Watsonville, is a place for...

In the early 1980s, when her eponymous bakery was in its infancy, Gayle Ortiz learned that a developer planned to turn the land surrounding the Rispin Mansion in Capitola into a senior living complex and several private homes. That plan did not sit well with...

A countywide celebration of visual and performing arts kicked off April 16 and will run through April 26.  The Ripple Effect Santa Cruz County Arts Festival is the County’s effort to highlight the creative community during California’s Arts, Culture and Creativity Month.  Organizers said the event...

Public defenders in Santa Cruz County will join colleagues across California and the nation April 23 in a coordinated protest highlighting what they describe as chronic underfunding and unmanageable caseloads that threaten defendants’ constitutional right to counsel. Chief Public Defender Heather Rogers is urging community...

Two environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday accusing Graniterock of violating the Clean Water Act for more than 1,000 days at its A.R. Wilson Quarry in Aromas. Environment California and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance allege the Watsonville-based company has for years discharged excessive...

A man was taken to a trauma center Friday night after he was shot in the head while driving along Freedom Boulevard. According to radio dispatches, the man was driving north on Freedom when a pickup with several people onboard pulled alongside his Toyota sedan...

Facing years of declining enrollment likely to take a multimillion-dollar bite out of its budget—coupled with federal education cuts and an impending recession—Pajaro Valley Unified School District has taken the first step toward possibly closing some schools. District officials this week announced the creation of...

A 15-year-old was arrested Wednesday on the 500 block of Rodriguez Street in connection with a Feb. 8 shooting. Watsonville police placed nearby Radcliff Elementary School on lockdown at about 11:50am as a preventative measure. The lockdown was lifted about 10 minutes later. The suspected 16-year-old...

A wanted suspect out of Santa Cruz County has been arrested after Watsonville Police, aided by their Flock camera system, found him driving a stolen car in Watsonville.    Officers on patrol were alerted that a stolen silver Toyota Avalon was in the area of the...

Two loaded firearms were taken off Watsonville streets in two separate incidents over the weekend. The first incident began during a routine traffic stop Friday night near downtown when Watsonville Police tried to stop a car driven by Juan Manuel Figueroa. Though he initially tried...