News

SANTA CRUZ—The man who was 15 when he kidnapped, raped and murdered 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton in 2015 pleaded guilty to the charges on Tuesday, setting the stage for a sentencing that could see him released by the time he is 25. That is because...

SANTA CRUZ—The family of the 8-year-old girl who was murdered in 2015 is facing a new tragedy after someone stole the urn containing her ashes. Madyson “Maddy” Middleton’s family says that her father Michel Middleton was keeping the urn in the glovebox of his unlocked...

WATSONVILLE—Chrislaine Pamphile Miller, who teaches middle school history at Mount Madonna School, was recently commended for her leadership and academic contributions to the Grade 6 Group of the California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP). “Chrislaine was not only a thoughtful and energetic participant in the Grade...

A man whose E-bike was stolen recently tracked it down to a Watsonvlle residence using a GPS device he had planted. He called police to help him get the bike back, and when they entered they found a total of 25 stolen bikes. Watsonville Police spokeswoman...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Parks and Community Services (PCS) Department recently received a large grant to help rebuild the Muzzio Park playground that was burned down in early June. GameTime, a national commercial playground manufacturer, will provide $15,000-37,000 on top of the $25,000 the City received in...

WATSONVILLE—Deputies from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office arrested a suspect in Watsonville Tuesday on suspicion of attempted homicide in a Jan. 13 drive-by shooting in Live Oak. Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said deputies arrested Daniel Anthony Tostado, 19, at a home on the...

SANTA CRUZ—For the purposes of this article, Maya and Sebastian Laing’s story begins on Oct. 20, when a group of strangers paid a late-night visit to their grandmother’s house where they had been staying.  After trying unsuccessfully to convince the kids to come with them...

Searching for joy in the ongoing pandemic calls for a certain focus amidst the cascade of negative numbers such as death tolls, cases and recoveries.  Such is the case for Watsonville artist Sefla Joseph, who has had to reinvent her studio art classes and take...

WATSONVILLE—After more than 30 meetings over the past eight months, the Watsonville Ad Hoc Committee on Policing and Social Equity on Aug. 4 released its final report to the public before its final meeting on Aug. 21. For Watsonville City Councilman Francisco “Paco” Estrada a...