Man accused of killing girlfriend pleads not guilty
SANTA CRUZ—The man who investigators say stabbed his girlfriend to death at her apartment on Clifford Avenue in July pleaded not guilty Tuesday during a brief hearing.
Alberto Scalant, 33, returns to court for his preliminary hearing on Nov. 17. He is being held in...
De Serpa clinches Second District Supervisor seat
Kim De Serpa has held her seat on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees for more than a decade. In her full-time professional life she serves as social services manager for Salinas valley Memorial Healthcare System.
Now, she says she is ready...
Two men shot in reportedly unrelated incidents near Watsonville
WATSONVILLE—Two men were shot five hours apart in reportedly unrelated incidents on the outskirts of Watsonville on June 23, and multiple suspects remain at large.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn on June 24 said deputies are searching for 47-year-old Edgar Ayala, the...
County supervisors wrap-up: nitrous oxide, changes at the Health Services Agency
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed an ordinance that would prohibit the sale of recreational nitrous oxide, and also made changes to lab services in the Health Services Agency.
The supervisors agreed to outsource the Health Services Agency’s (HSA) laboratory services...
Wetlands Watch’s youth climate institute receives state funding
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Wetlands Watch’s (WWW) Climate Corps Leadership Institute recently scored a $300,000 Youth Community Access grant from the California Natural Resources Agency.
Climate Corps Leadership Institute (CCLI), formed in 2020, grew out of WWW’s Green Careers Institute. It works to increase youth access to the...
Public input sought on Ramsay Park Nature Center design
The City of Watsonville, Watsonville Wetlands Watch (WWW), and Community Arts & Empowerment are teaming up to design and install a new mosaic mural for the entrance wall of the new Nature Center scheduled to open in Ramsay Park in late 2025.
The artwork includes...
Final parks plan on City Council agenda
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday will be asked to approve the final plans for Ramsay Park and the City Plaza, as well as a giant, all-encompassing roadmap for the city’s 26 parks.
Prepared over the course of several months, the 2020 Parks and Recreation...
Group to call on Driscoll’s to cease pesticides near schools
A local group is calling on the nation’s largest berry grower to cease the use of pesticides on farm fields located near schools.
The Campaign for Organic & Regenerative Agriculture (CORA) will hold a press conference and community gathering on May 21 to ask Driscoll’s...
Pinole homicide suspect caught in Santa Cruz
A man wanted on suspicion of murder in the San Francisco Bay Area was stopped and arrested Friday evening in Santa Cruz.
According to Israel Murillo of the California Highway Patrol, officers on patrol spotted the suspect’s vehicle—a Hyundai Elantra—traveling in the area of Seabright...
Mariners on track for fourth consecutive SCCAL title | Girls soccer
Midway through the winter campaign, Aptos remains the cream of the crop in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League with a current record of...
