News

Editor’s note: a story on 19th Congressional incumbent Jimmy Panneta will follow this one. Republican challenger Jason Michael Anderson did not respond to a request for an interview. ••• District Sean Doughery realized his government needed a reboot when he went to Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s office...

WATSONVILLE—A man with a history of burglarizing businesses by entering through their rooftops was arrested again on Aug. 25, when he allegedly broke into Cabrillo College’s Watsonville campus, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. Fermin Sanchez, 33, faces new burglary and trespassing charges. He was...

APTOS—A new mural by Watsonville-based artist Francisco Alonso is slowly coming together at Cabrillo College’s main campus in Aptos. Funded by a grant from the Cabrillo Foundation and the Cabrillo College Student Senate, the mural project is part of the institution’s ongoing efforts to promote...

WATSONVILLE—A long-awaited major street and sidewalk improvement project on a block of Lincoln Street that bisects Watsonville High School is moving forward. The state-funded Lincoln Street Safety Improvement Project will shorten crosswalks, make the sidewalks ADA compliant, and add a mid-block crosswalk, additional lighting, new...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s newest charter school now has a permanent home, and a long-vacant building on the Main Street corridor will soon have a new tenant. Watsonville Prep School, which opened in August with 180 kindergarteners, first- and second-grade students, plans to occupy the second floor of...

A man was injured Saturday night after an unknown suspect shot at him while he was in his vehicle.

SANTA CRUZ—Nearly five years after Michael Escobar allegedly gunned down a rival gang member and killed a young girl in the crossfire, his case is finally being presented to a jury. Jurors heard opening arguments Tuesday in the case that is likely to take at...

Growing strain on the health care system has triggered a stricter stay-at-home order for Santa Cruz County and the rest of the Bay Area region identified in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently issued regional order. Intensive care unit (ICU) capacity in the Bay Area region, which...

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved contracts with Watsonville Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office to place uniformed law enforcement officials at the district’s three comprehensive high schools as school resource officers (SROs). These SROs will...