News

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS—Law enforcement officials on Thursday arrested a man suspected of running a “chop shop” high in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Victor Guizar Avalos, 40, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of operating a chop shop and possessing ammunition. He was...

APTOS—California Highway Patrol officers on Sunday arrested an Aptos man after he allegedly smashed into a parked vehicle and several other objects while driving drunk in Aptos. Antonio Ayala, 46, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He was booked into Santa Cruz...

WATSONVILLE—Oscar Soto has won the Trustee Area 3 seat on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees, beating Amanda Hernandez by 51 votes, according to results from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, neither of which have been certified. Soto said he was cautiously...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Thanks to $10 million in federal and state grants, Santa Cruz County has launched a new Housing for Health office, County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios announced at a press conference Nov. 19. Robert Ratner, who brings in 14 years of experience from Alameda...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man died early Friday morning in a solo-vehicle crash on Amesti Road. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the 33-year-old victim was driving a blue 1998 Volkswagen Beetle eastbound on Amesti Road east of Cypress Lane, at an unknown speed at 12:28am....

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—The man who died Feb. 22 after being shot nine days earlier on the Pajaro River levee has been identified as Daniel Godinez, 46, a homeless man from Watsonville, Santa Cruz Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said Wednesday. Godinez was shot at least twice on Feb....

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday paved the way for its youngest students to return to class after spring break. Under the plan, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students will continue distance learning from 8:45-11:45am every day.  First graders will continue distance...

WATSONVILLE—A man was shot in a housing complex off of Ohlone Parkway in Watsonville early Sunday afternoon. Watsonville Police Department Sgt. Mish Radich said police were dispatched to a report of a shooting at the Stone Creek Apartments, 300 Bree Lane, around 1pm. Officers found the...

National Student-Athlete Day, celebrated annually on April 6, encourages others to support the student-athletes in their lives in all of their endeavors, goals and aspirations while recognizing (and celebrating) their accomplishments. To further celebrate their efforts, Driscoll’s and the Pajaro Valley Sports Foundation (PVSF) are...