News

Watsonville Fire Chief Rudy López has announced his retirement after 35 years of service to the community. His retirement will be effective Dec. 31.  López began his career in 1990 as a reserve Watsonville firefighter, and advanced through the ranks, serving as firefighter, captain and...

A Santa Cruz man died Wednesday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash on the north coast. California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murillo said the man, who has not been named, was riding a 2013 Kawasaki motorcycle southbound on Highway 1, north of Dimeo Lane. The motorcyclist accelerated...

Watsonville Police Sgt. Mish Radich works with Master Officer Burt Iles, K-9 officer Rocky and California Highway Patrol officer Robert Padilla Tuesday in searching for four men that reportedly fled from officers on foot.

SOUTH COUNTY—The first rainstorms of winter brought more than just moisture. With them came a chance to raise local water levels in alarmingly low aquifers and reservoirs. They also allowed water agencies across the county to put new sustainability projects—like injecting stormwater into underground...

WATSONVILLE—Monterey Bay Caterers, a long-standing business in the Pajaro Valley which operated as a catering business and a restaurant, is for sale. Owner Ken Schwan said a combination of things led to his decision. He’ll be 64 next month, and his recent motorcycle crash that...

A new disc golf course has opened in Royal Oaks Park, a project by the Monterey Parks and Lakes Department. Disc golf is a sport where players throw flying discs similar to frisbees into baskets or targets posted across a sprawling course.  The Royal Oaks course...

SANTA CRUZ—Class of 2020 Salutatorian Michelle Soriano says she has come out of Pacific Coast Charter School a changed individual. “I’m leaving as a different person—but in a good way,” Soriano said. “I feel like I’m better at looking out for myself, and not just...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s budget has improved somewhat since the summer, when grim projections showed the district possibly unable to meet expenses for the next three years. The district’s Board of Trustees heard the news in a budget update on Wednesday. That situation, known as...

WATSONVILLE—Chevrolet of Watsonville took a giant step up in the world of auto mechanics last week as one of their mechanics, Richard Shephard, was awarded a World Class Technician status award by officials from General Motors and Chevrolet. “There’s a lot of time, a lot...