72.6 F
Watsonville
March 7, 2026

Man arrested after trying to kidnap girl

A Castroville man is facing kidnapping charges after he allegedly grabbed a 10-year-old girl who was walking home Friday. Salvador Hernandez-Saldivar, 61, was charged with kidnapping, assault with intent to commit a felony, child endangerment and annoying or molesting a minor under 18, Monterey County...

County’s new Public Defender office begins operations

Heather Rogers
SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County’s new Public Defender office began operations on July 1, and the department’s roughly 60 employees celebrated the occasion with a barbecue in the backyard of its May Avenue headquarters.  The new office includes an increased number of attorneys, in addition to...

Turley takes commanding lead over Acosta in PVUSD Trustee Area 2 race

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will see a change next year, as incumbents Georgia Acosta and Adam Scow took a back seat to challengers Carol Turley and Jessica Carrasco. Results posted as of 1:30am Wednesday showed Turley ahead for the Trustee...

County bolsters rules for abandoned, inoperable RVs

Abandoned, wrecked, disabled and inoperable vehicles parked on public roadways in the county’s unincorporated areas have long bedeviled residents—who say they are eyesores—as well as law enforcement officials, who were reluctant to have them towed. That’s because county ordinance—which allowed towing of abandoned RVs and...

RTC cuts ties with Progressive Rail

After months of stalled negotiations, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission has moved to end its operating agreement with Progressive Rail Incorporated on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line, a step the agency says will help advance the Coastal Rail Trail and preserve...

Lost & found

A woman who lost her wallet in 1962 was reunited with it 58 years later this week when construction workers found the red leather folding wallet during a refurbishing project of a movie theater. It was discovered in a framing and sheetrock cavity inside...

Council discussion probes benefits of airport, proposed Measure U renewal

Watsonville city council
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville City Councilman Lowell Hurst has held office on and off since first being elected to the council in 1988. Typically, the seasoned politician takes fellow council members and the attendees of Watsonville City Council meetings back in time, and provides perspective on community...

7.1 magnitude quake kills 55 as buildings collapse in Mexico

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocked central Mexico on Tuesday, killing at least 55 people as buildings collapsed in plumes of dust and thousands fled into the streets in panic.

Former WPD officer sworn in as San Benito Sheriff

Eric Taylor
SAN BENITO COUNTY—A Watsonville native was sworn in as the 16th sheriff for San Benito County Friday under mild, sunny conditions in the front courtyard of the Veterans Memorial Building. Eric Taylor, a 1992 Watsonville High School graduate, accepted the position in the presence of...

Probable monkeypox cases identified on Central Coast

CENTRAL COAST—Two Santa Cruz County residents have become the first in the county to be diagnosed with a probable case of monkeypox, the Santa Cruz County Public Health Division announced Wednesday.  The announcements on June 29 and July 6 came as a recent uptick in...
7,695FansLike
4,949FollowersFollow
2,895FollowersFollow

RTC looks to federal, state government to fill rail funding gap

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) will seek funding from the state and federal government to support construction planning for a passenger...