News

Workers with Granite Construction construct a new concrete walkway at the rear of Ramsay Park Monday as part of an ongoing major renovation. The $3.6 million project, which has been in the works for several years, has led to the demolition and rebuilding of...

WATSONVILLE—A man suspected of robbing the Walgreens store in Watsonville was arrested in Oakland Sunday. Watsonville police said the suspect, Elben Ramos, 26, entered the pharmacy at Walgreens on Freedom Boulevard around 7am on Saturday. He jumped over the counter and filled a bag with...

Watsonville Police have identified the suspect who was arrested Oct. 3 after he holed up inside a vacant home on Clifford Avenue.  Javier Diaz Baruc, 30, was charged with burglary, resisting arrest, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, along with multiple outstanding warrants for...

SANTA CRUZ—A group of community members is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case of a man who was kidnapped from his Pleasure Point home and murdered on Oct. 1. The reward is the largest of its kind in...

WATSONVILLE—Since 2019, local artist Jessica Carrasco has organized the Born and Raised in Watsonville scholarship, aiming to support youth while spreading positivity about her hometown. The scholarship is funded through sales of Carrasco’s line of Watsonville-themed stickers and other fundraising efforts in the community.  Students can...

The 15th annual ¡Cultura Caliente! scholarship fundraiser is scheduled for Friday in the Henry J. Mello Center.

Nancy Lockwood, former solid waste division manager for the City of Watsonville, who helped create the 6.5-mile slough-wetland trail system and shape the bulk of the city’s progressive environmental direction, died Saturday in her Watsonville home. She was 62.

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...

Nearly 300 people marched the streets of downtown Santa Cruz May 18 to help end homelessness.  The second-annual gathering, organized by Housing Matters, reigned in a coalition of local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and public supporters in the March to End Homelessness. The event began outside Santa...

SANTA CRUZ—The man who gunned down a rival gang member and killed a 4-year-old girl in the crossfire nearly six years ago was sentenced Thursday to two consecutive terms of life without parole in state prison. Michael Escobar, 36, also received more than 12 years...