News

WATSONVILLE—On a typical Saturday morning Watsonville City Councilman Francisco “Paco” Estrada would be sipping coffee, spending time with his family and watching Liverpool F.C. continue its dominance of the English Premier League. But Jan. 11 was no typical Saturday morning. Estrada, along with about three dozen...

Three law enforcement agencies responded to the west side of Watsonville early Monday afternoon after a man allegedly pelted passing cars with sticks and rocks, and smashed the windows of four vehicles and a building. Martin Cruz Chavez, 33, was taken to Santa Cruz County...

Tarmo Hannula: There’s a slight chance of rain this evening, the National Weather Service said. But the big news is several more episodes of rain next week starting Tuesday and then picking up again late Wednesday through Friday. • Video footage and evidence recovered on the...

WATSONVILLE—Thousands of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers throughout South Santa Cruz County and North Monterey County lost power Friday. According to PG&E’s website 11,609 customers lost power at 12:54 p.m. for an unknown reason. The utility said it restored power for most customers at...

WATSONVILLE—A man was stabbed to death early Friday morning in a rural setting east of Watsonville. Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home on the 1400 block of Green Valley Road at 2 a.m. for a report of a disturbance, Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley...

Editor’s note: This is the first entry in a monthly series about the history scattered throughout downtown Watsonville and the city at large. For the past several months I’ve been getting around town, mostly by bus and on foot. Besides being a giant change in...

Special events Fungus Fair (Jan. 11-12) Did you know that without fungus, we’d have no bread, cheese, beer or wine? Come to the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair to learn all there is to know about the fascinating world of mushrooms. The three-day event features hundreds of...

Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name...

Tony Nuñez FOOD: Cafe Ella's Mañana Panini I’m not a fan of small breakfast. I don’t like to eat a yogurt parfait or fruit salad with my coffee. I like something that fills me up and keeps me satisfied until deep into the afternoon. So when...

Five-week event returns tonight to downtown Santa Cruz SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Actors’ Theatre is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of its acclaimed 8 Tens @ 8 Short Play Festival, which will be held Jan. 10-Feb. 9 at the Center Stage Theater in downtown Santa Cruz. The...