News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Every year, volunteer groups across Monterey Bay participate in a beach cleanup the day after the Fourth of July. The holiday is known to bring large crowds to local beaches for celebrations. Many set off fireworks, leaving large amounts of waste that is...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police have arrested a 17-year-old City of Watsonville employee on sexual battery and false imprisonment charges involving at least two teen girls that allegedly occurred in 2017, prior to his employment with the city, spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said.  The suspect, who is not being...

Work continues on the major rebuild of the Watsonville High cafeteria and multipurpose room. • I saw on the morning news that one of five people has Covid-19 in Florida. Officials in that state were among the first to rush into reopening, claiming the lockdown was...

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a man after finding more than three pounds of heroin and several illegal firearms in his possession. Joseph Watts, 65, was charged with drug possession, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He...

WATSONVILLE—Eight people at the Salvation Army Shelter in Watsonville tested positive for Covid-19 last week, forcing the site to temporarily close for cleaning Friday.  Santa Cruz County health officials were notified that a resident of the Salvation Army Shelter on Union Street tested positive for...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County is days away from being placed on the California Department of Public Health’s Monitoring List and facing further economic restrictions, County Health Officer Gail Newel said at Thursday morning’s press conference. With 531 active Covid-19 cases as of Thursday—and more...

Construction work moves forward on the new athletic field at Pajaro Valley High School in Watsonville. The $12,898,450 project, largely paid for with Measure L funds, is moving ahead despite coronavirus shutdowns and a chance of no students being on campus in the fall....

SANTA CRUZ—A man was shot and killed as he sat in a car on the westside of Santa Cruz Tuesday afternoon. He has been identified as Juan Antonio Ruiz, 28, according to the Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office.  The initial call to emergency dispatchers reported a...

TONY NUÑEZ: Community members again gathered at the George Washington bust in the Watsonville City Plaza on Friday. Some were calling for the statue to come down and others were saying it should stay up. People on both sides of the argument will get their...

WATSONVILLE—The simultaneous ringing of bells in sister cities across the United States and Japan to mark 75 years of peace since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will take place Aug. 5. The event is part of an inaugural initiative of the newly created Japan...