Man arrested for allegedly shooting, killing reported ‘friend’
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly shooting and killing a man who officers say was his “friend” on Jan. 7.
Ricardo Garcia was taken into custody on the 1400 block of Freedom Boulevard on Feb. 12. Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said...
Watsonville man arrested in connection with January shooting in Live Oak
WATSONVILLE—Deputies from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office arrested a suspect in Watsonville Tuesday on suspicion of attempted homicide in a Jan. 13 drive-by shooting in Live Oak.
Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said deputies arrested Daniel Anthony Tostado, 19, at a home on the...
Local father-daughter musical duo releases first album
WATSONVILLE—April Bennett was only about 2 years old when she went up on a stage with her father, Steve Bennett for the very first time.
Steve was in the house band at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton for many years, and April would often join...
Watsonville sees three shootings in 48-hour period
WATSONVILLE—Three shootings in Watsonville inside of 48 hours have left law enforcement investigators with their hands full.
Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said the first shooting happened early Saturday morning on the Pajaro River levee at the end of Walker Street. That shooting left...
Man in critical condition after another shooting near levee
WATSONVILLE—A 46-year-old man is in critical condition after being shot early Saturday morning near the Pajaro River levee on Walker Street, an area that has seen two other shootings in recent months.
Watsonville Police Department officers were dispatched to the end of Walker Street near...
PVUSD’s budget improves, charter school granted more classrooms
WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s budget has improved somewhat since the summer, when grim projections showed the district possibly unable to meet expenses for the next three years.
The district’s Board of Trustees heard the news in a budget update on Wednesday.
That situation, known as...
County health director urges prioritization of older adults in vaccine distribution
WATSONVILLE—Less than four days before the County of Santa Cruz was set to inoculate 1,000 people in a mass Covid-19 vaccination clinic at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, county health officials canceled every appointment on the docket.
They did so because about two-thirds of those...
Volunteers needed to help landscape new pump track
WATSONVILLE—Work continues on the new Ramsay Park Pumptrack, including the addition of a layer of asphalt to the lumpy bicycle course.
Being built by Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC), crews are currently installing new split rail fencing. When completed the park will provide an...
Lawsuit against city, airport advances
WATSONVILLE—A lawsuit against the city of Watsonville and the municipal airport will move forward after a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss it.
The plaintiff in the case is United Flight Services (UFS), which sued the city in...
PVUSD classroom closures extended to April, superintendent says
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Teachers throughout Santa Cruz County are getting their Covid-19 vaccines, a daunting task that is moving the needle a tiny bit closer for a plan to return students to the classroom.
But with unpredictable vaccine supplies, thousands of educators and school employees still...
Letters to the editor Oct. 24-30
Teachers are educators, not activists
In a recent opinion piece, the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers expressed concern on being silenced in the classroom. PVUSD...
