News

WATSONVILLE—Ella’s at the Airport opened at Watsonville Municipal Airport in 2015, and since then has garnered a large following of customers. Owner Ella King, who at the time also owned the popular Cafe Ella, took the building—closed for one year after the previous restaurant was...

WATSONVILLE—Mas Hashimoto, a devout defender of civil rights whose name became synonymous with his hometown after decades of service in education, community volunteerism and historic preservation, and whose unrelenting willingness to speak, write and teach about the plight of Japanese Americans during World War...

WATSONVILLE—Couch Distributing Company, Inc. announced to its employees Tuesday that after nearly a half-century of service it is selling its distribution business to Fresno-based Donaghy Sales, LLC. Established in 1973 Couch Distributing Company has been the leading beer and beverage distributor in Santa Cruz, Monterey...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Watsonville man arrested last month for allegedly killing his stepdaughter 16 years ago in Florida has died after severing the femoral artery in his leg while in jail and suffering hemorrhagic shock, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said Tuesday. Raul...

WATSONVILLE—A 33-year-old Watsonville man died in a solo-vehicle crash just before midnight Tuesday on Riverside Road, or Highway 129. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the victim was driving a 1999 Lexus west on Riverside Road south of Lakeview Road with a 44-year-old female...

WATSONVILLE—Work began over the weekend on a major restoration of a long-standing outdoor mural at the La Manzana center. Muralist Guillermo “Yermo” Aranda, who is the creative drive behind scores of murals around Santa Cruz County, Salinas and San Diego, said it was time to...

WATSONVILLE—A man and woman were found dead inside a van parked in the parking lot of the Rodeway Inn in Watsonville on Tuesday afternoon. Watsonville Police Department Sgt. Juan Trujillo said police were dispatched to the Rodeway Inn on West Beach Street near Highway 1...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office released the names of the two men who were shot and killed on Saturday in Watsonville in separate shooting incidents. The first victim, who was shot near Marchant and E. Front streets around 5:30pm, has been identified as Rafael Salcedo,...

WATSONVILLE—A man and woman were found dead in a home in Pajaro Village on Christmas Eve in what police believe to be a murder-suicide. Watsonville Police Department Sgt. Mike Ridgway said officers were led to the man and woman by a relative. The Santa Cruz County...

WATSONVILLE—Three men are facing felony vandalism charges for allegedly defacing more than a half-dozen businesses in downtown Watsonville with graffiti early Saturday. Richard Betancourt, 40, Javier Alvarado, 29, and Juan Bautista, 23, all of Watsonville, were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of...