Bridge Street median project nears completion
WATSONVILLE—A three-phase, two-year project to beautify the lengthy median strip that divides the east and westbound lanes of Bridge Street will wrap up Thursday.
Michael Johnson of Watsonville’s landscape water conservation program said the project began in 2019 at Bridge Street and Joyce Drive. It...
Watsonville Police Chief Jorge Zamora retiring after three years
The City of Watsonville on Thursday announced that Police Chief Jorge Zamora is retiring, with his last day set for Aug. 30.
The retirement will end a law enforcement career of more than three decades.
Zamora began as a police cadet when he was 15, and...
Company to streamline rebuilding permitting process for CZU victims
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County will hire a company to handle the permitting process for residents rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed in the CZU August Lightning Complex fires.
The County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved the plan to hire Pleasanton-based engineering firm 4Leaf, Inc....
UCSC fires 74 striking teaching assistants demanding higher wages
SANTA CRUZ—A graduate teaching assistant who worked at UC Santa Cruz until she was fired on Friday says that a protest for higher wages has grown since it started in December to include several more UC schools.
Brenda Arjona, who is in her third-year seeking...
Santa Cruz County: We will stand with immigrant community
A large group of county officials and nonprofit leaders gathered at the Santa Cruz County Government Building Thursday to show support for the immigrant community in the wake of Donald Trump’s rise to the U.S. Presidency.
Trump has promised mass deportations of the nation’s immigrant...
String of illegal honey oil labs unearthed
WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office have disrupted a major hash oil lab on Hangar Way in Watsonville.
Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin said agents from the Cannabis Licensing Office are investigating the discovery of an illegal operation using dangerous chemicals and equipment to...
Group to file complaint against Watsonville housing project
WATSONVILLE—A group is planning to file a complaint to the California Attorney General’s Office against the city of Watsonville and the County of Santa Cruz for advancing a housing project that they say will create an environmental hazard for its future residents and a...
Art meets nature in latest exhibit in downtown Watsonville
A new art exhibit, which includes workshops and a public tree planting, is set to open at Studio Judy G on Main Street in Watsonville on Jan. 21.
“Trees to Be” features works by more than 50 artists and local organizations who deal with the...
Large apartment complex in Watsonville clears county hurdle
WATSONVILLE—A proposed 80-unit affordable apartment complex between Atkinson Lane and Brewington Avenue received a unanimous recommendation for approval from the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission on Wednesday morning.
In the works since 2013, the project is an extension of the 46-unit Pippin Orchards apartment complex...
New pastry shop opens in downtown Watsonville
WATSONVILLE—A new bakery that offers a dazzling and colorful line of pastries, cakes, fancy cookies, cupcakes and more has recently opened in downtown Watsonville.
Ricarmi Panaderia y Pasteleria at 11 East Fifth St. is the realization of a longtime dream for Ricardo Lopez and Armida...
Order restored in Mexico, president says
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that order had been restored after a federal operation killed Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” the longtime...
