News

WATSONVILLE—A proposed redevelopment of the vacant Gottschalks building in the heart of downtown will come to the Watsonville Planning Commission during its Oct. 6 meeting. Navigator Schools, the parent organization of local charter school Watsonville Prep, and the Hansen Family Trust are teaming up to...

WATSONVILLE—A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in a 2019 Watsonville case.  Casto Luna, 41, a transient, was found in the area of Ford and Kilburn streets in Watsonville and taken into custody on Monday, Watsonville Police said. WPD officers and detectives assisted the...

An arrest has been made after a six-week investigation into the murder of a 34-year-old Watsonville man behind the Chipotle Restaurant on the 1300 block of Main Street. Watsonville Police said the 16-year-old suspect was taken into custody Saturday night in connection with the Oct....

CENTRAL COAST—The Bay Area region designated in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s regional stay-at-home order is expected to fall below its baseline Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed capacity sometime this weekend, meaning several industries will face more restrictions put in place to curb the spread of...

Nancy Lockwood, former solid waste division manager for the City of Watsonville, who helped create the 6.5-mile slough-wetland trail system and shape the bulk of the city’s progressive environmental direction, died Saturday in her Watsonville home. She was 62.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz METRO bus system is maintaining regular schedules during the coronavirus crisis but discussions are now underway, based on the county’s shelter-in-place order Monday, that could lead to limiting some service.  In addition, the METRO Pacific Station Transit Center lobby and...

In my travels about town, I’m always on the lookout for something different, original, funny for the camera. One such find was on Cutter Drive the other day. It was the front half of a motorcycle emerging from the front of a garage. Different,...

Bag piper Mick Bench took part in a Memorial Day ceremony at the Evergreen Cemetery in Santa Cruz today.

More than 50 years ago, clockmaker and shop owner Allison Rider discovered a new hobby: making chocolate candies for his friends, family and employees. Rider, a big chocolate lover, started creating treats loosely based on See's Candies flavors. He experimented with caramel and other soft-center...

SAN JOSE—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a San Jose man suspected of a fatal shooting that occurred on June 14. Albaro Amaral, 30, was charged with murder and attempted murder. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Main Jail in lieu of...