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Watsonville
December 29, 2025

Man tied to Bay Area shootings arrested after Santa Cruz County chase

sirens
A man described by police as a person of interest in a shooting that left nine people hurt in San Francisco June 9 was arrested in Santa Cruz Wednesday evening following a high-speed chase that started in Watsonville. Javier Campos, 22, was taken into custody...

Flood recovery information session to be held Thursday

WATSONVILLE—The public is invited to a flood recovery information session in Watsonville today to learn and ask questions about flood recovery and insurance issues. The meeting will be held at the Pajaro Village Community Room, 739 Bronte Ave., from 4-5pm.  Chief executive officer of Community Bridges...

Knife wielder shuts down SC bridge

Santa Cruz Police shut down the Water Street Bridge in Santa Cruz Monday for about 90 minutes where a woman reportedly waved a knife at people early Tuesday. The incident was coupled with an unrelated major water main break and flooding.  Around 1 p.m. the...

Briefs: Polka band to perform at Oktoberfest Santa Cruz

thirsty nine polka band oktoberfest
Polka band to perform at Oktoberfest Oktoberfest returns to Messiah Lutheran Church, 801 High St. in Santa Cruz, on Sept. 30 from noon to 4pm. The event will feature German food, beer and wine, along with various activities for children and families. The Thirsty Nine polka band...

Survey seeks opinions on Washington statue

Watsonville Washington bust
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville has established a survey in hopes of gathering community input on the future of the George Washington bust in the City Plaza. The three-question survey asks the public for opinions about the statue in its current state, and if they have...

‘Keep smiling:’ Longtime Aptos High custodian dies

Robert “Bobby” Salazar, the unofficial mayor of Aptos who served as security guard and maintenance man for Aptos High School for more than four decades, and who was known for his ever-present smile and exhortations for everyone he met to “keep smiling,” died March 17 after a battle with cancer. He was 62.

Hernandez leads Dutra in race for 4th district

WATSONVILLE—Felipe Hernandez has taken an early lead on Jimmy Dutra in the race for the 4th District Santa Cruz County Supervisor seat, according to initial results reported by the County Elections Department. Hernandez, the former mayor of Watsonville and current member of the Cabrillo College...

Monterey County feels brunt of dangerous pesticide use, study shows

More than half of pregnant women in Monterey County are exposed to pesticides believed to be harmful to their fetuses, and a quarter of the pesticide used in California is applied in Monterey County. Those statistics are part of a study released Sept. 30 by...

Grand Jury looks at Behavioral Health Division

The Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health Division (BHD) is underfunded and understaffed, which hinders its ability to provide services to low-income patients, young people and jail inmates with mental health needs. A lack of bilingual staff, furthermore, makes delivering mental health services to Latinos challenging. That’s...

City to form Senior Action Committee

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is searching for residents 50 years of age or older to serve on its new Senior Action Committee (SAC). Members of this volunteer committee will advise the city and other local jurisdictions by representing the perspectives, concerns and needs of Watsonville’s...
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Watsonville names new fire chief

The City of Watsonville has named longtime firefighter Corey Schaefer as its next fire chief following the retirement of Chief Rudy López. Schaefer, a 27-year...