News

Members of Taiko San Francisco perform Saturday at the 29th annual Japanese Cultural Fair in Santa Cruz. The one-day event featured music and dance, a tea ceremony, ikebana (flower) and bonsai demonstrations and a kimono workshop, information tables and various Japanese goods for sale. 

PAJARO VALLEY—A growing list of helping hands during the flood crisis that struck Pajaro recently continues to dole out badly needed goods and services. On Saturday the staff at Pajaro Valley Shelter Services in Watsonville invited 100 families from Pajaro to help themselves to new...

SANTA CRUZ—A 19-year-old Watsonville man pleaded no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday for allegedly firing a gun that killed his reported friend on S. Green Valley Road Jan. 7. Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Ilia McKinney said that Ricardo Jesus Garcia could...

WATSONVILLE—The major renovation of the Watsonville High School cafeteria is moving ahead, with floor tile installation near completion and last minute touches being done. General contractor Avila Construction is heading up the project, estimated at $3.3 million. It is the school’s final allocation from Measure...

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating after a woman’s body was found on Manresa Beach Friday morning.

SANTA CRUZ—The Wharf to Wharf race winds six miles from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to Capitola Village, and since its inception in 1973 has drawn thousands of participants and spectators from around the world.  This year’s event on July 26 would have featured 16,000...

Special events Gourmet Grazing on the Green  (Oct. 5) Held at Aptos Village Park, Grazing on the Green is a day of fine wine, excellent food and live music. Spend the afternoon sampling the delicious flavors from dozens of local restaurants and local wineries. Event starts at...

A major upgrade on a section of Freedom Boulevard, between Alta Vista Avenue and Green Valley Road, is in its final stage. The months-long job included fresh asphalt, multi-modal bike lanes, new curbs, sidewalks and gutters (in places), new ADA ramps, a bus pullout at...

Members of the community continued to push back against the introduction of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to Santa Cruz County at a community workshop on July 30.  The workshop—which more than 30 people attended–was held by the Santa Cruz County Commission on the Environment...

Youth in grades 3 through 8 are invited to a five-day workshop entitled “The Mask We Wear & the Stories We Tell.” Facilitated by Cristal González Avila, it runs June 27 through July 1 at the Watsonville Center for the Arts. This hands-on workshop...