News

WATSONVILLE—Scheduled clean-ups of the Pajaro River Levee have been postponed indefinitely after homeless advocates raised concerns about displacing people living there, according to Watsonville City Manager Matt Huffaker. Huffaker said a regularly scheduled clean-up of the levee was set for Tuesday and Wednesday. That was...

WATSONVILLE—On Dec. 1, the East Lake Shopping Center in Watsonville welcomed its newest addition. Ferrari Florist, located at 928 East Lake Ave., is now the third store for the 74-year-old business in Santa Cruz County.  Five years ago, Brian and Marilyn Piazza noticed that a...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—For the past six years, the annual holiday fundraising campaign Santa Cruz Gives (SCG) has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for local nonprofits, by creating a network of donors and shining a spotlight on the organizations. And in 2021, fundraising has...

CAPITOLA—Efforts to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom are picking up steam, with proponents having gathered 911,000 signatures since June 10. The all volunteer, grassroots group behind the drive—Recall Gavin 2020—has until March 17 to gather about 1.5 million signatures to qualify for a special election. Another group,...

WATSONVILLE—A man was arrested on New Year’s Eve after he allegedly stole more than $2,000 worth of equipment from Watsonville High School.  Michael Mortimer, 27, was charged with felony burglary, possession of stolen property, a probation violation and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was already on...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution to extend the emergency declarations that came in the wake of the CZU August Lightning Complex fires. The County first proclaimed a local emergency related to the fires on Aug. 19...

WATSONVILLE—A man was seriously injured late Saturday night after he crashed his vehicle on Beach Road and was hurled into an agriculture field. The bizarre chain of events started around 10:30pm when the man, who has not been named, was involved in a hit-and-run crash...

Editor's note: This story was updated from a previous version. There were at least 56 fatalities on the highways and 709 DUI arrests across California over the New Year’s holiday, California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said. The totals are a steep climb from last year’s...

SACRAMENTO—California Gov. Gavin Newsom named Secretary of State Alex Padilla California’s U.S. Senator to fill the term being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Padilla will thus become the first Latino U.S. Senator to represent California, Newsom’s office said. “The son of Mexican immigrants—a cook...

Here are photos from the Pajaronian team that defined this year. Coronavirus closures Community comes together For the record Hot topics Saying Goodbye Bright spots