News

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has issued evacuation orders for hundreds of people in the north and south areas of the county after heavy rains fell overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning. Residents living near Holohan Road, Laken Drive and College Road in Watsonville...

APTOS—In response to Santa Cruz County’s ongoing shelter-in-place order, Cabrillo College Extension has moved many of its popular workshops and summer camps to a virtual format with live instruction.  Classes in creative and culinary arts, health and wellness, home and garden, as well as Extension’s...

LARKIN VALLEY—A  woman was shot Monday afternoon in the area of Highway 1 and Mar Monte, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn. When Sheriff’s deputies arrived around 3pm, they learned the victim self-transported to a local hospital and was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) has launched its first-ever virtual exhibition. “Queer Santa Cruz: Stories of the LGBTQ+ Community in Santa Cruz County” was created with local organization Diversity Center Santa Cruz County. It includes photographs, videos, early queer...

WATSONVILLE—Five years after Michael Escobar gunned down a rival gang member, and killed a young girl when one of his bullets went astray, a jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder and several special allegations. Escobar, now 36, will likely be sentenced to...

WATSONVILLE—The historic Mansion House in downtown Watsonville is searching for a new, hip tenant. The New China Buffet permanently closed its doors at the end of 2019 and the Tufo family is looking to fill the 3,800-square-foot space at 420 Main St. with a new...

WATSONVILLE—Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County has been distributing almost twice as much food to local families than usual. As such, the organization’s parking lot is now full of distribution and refrigeration trucks, forklifts and storage containers. Staff, volunteers...

WATSONVILLE—A large portion of the Pajaro Valley was blanketed with heavy smoke Monday afternoon after a fire erupted in a brush-covered field between the Pajaro River and 30 Riverside Road. The 3:45pm incident drew a large response from Watsonville Fire, North Monterey County Fire and...

The Watsonville Strawberry Festival returns this year on Aug. 4 and 5, bringing with it some old favorites and a few new additions.

Imperial County Sheriff’s deputies have located a teen who ran away from a Watsonville group home in mid-July.