News

About 150 people gathered in Santa Cruz July 17, for a third meeting held over the past few months to send the message that proposed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Watsonville, Aptos and Santa Cruz are not welcome. “These folks are pursuing these systems...

A little more than two years after closing several Orchard Supply Hardware stores, including the Watsonville location, owner Lowe’s Companies, Inc., announced it will close the remaining 99 stores.

The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau (SCCFB) was honored with five County Activities of Excellence Awards, and was a finalist in the statewide Innovator Awards at the California Farm Bureau’s 104th meeting in early December. A local delegation of five attended the annual meeting in...

TARMO HANNULA I got off of the METRO 69A bus Thursday morning at the corner of Green Valley Road at Main Street to check out an incident where five Watsonville Police cars and a fire engine were present at the edge of the Crossroads Center....

SANTA CRUZ — The man found dead in his cell Monday at Santa Cruz County Main Jail was strangled, sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn announced early Thursday. German Carrillo, 24, of Watsonville, was in custody on murder charges since April 2013.  Carrillo shared a cell with two other...

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 COUNTY—Recycling is an idea that has become deeply embedded in modern culture, so much so that many don’t think twice before placing cans, bottles and cardboard into the appropriate bins. Beginning this year, a new law will let California residents do the same...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) will host a one-day conference on July 9 centered around the figure Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Attendees will explore the historic and cultural impact of the figure through readings, discussions and workshops. Speakers include Seattle University professor Jeanette Rodriguez, who will discuss...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Evacuation “will be necessary” for the people living along Corralitos and Salsipuedes creeks as Santa Cruz County braces for a second major storm in less than a week, officials said Tuesday. “We are letting people living in those areas know that, in all...

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County’s new Public Defender office began operations on July 1, and the department’s roughly 60 employees celebrated the occasion with a barbecue in the backyard of its May Avenue headquarters.  The new office includes an increased number of attorneys, in addition to...