News

About 150 people plunged into the Pacific Saturday at Cowell’s Beach for the third annual Liberation Paddle Out celebration of Juneteenth. With the aid of around two dozen experienced surfers and other supporters, the crowd fitted themselves with wetsuits, took in a brief surf lesson...

A man was found dead Saturday afternoon at Ramsay Park. WPD said the man was found by a passerby in a row of shrubs along Main Street. He was identified as Shandon Spotswood, 52, said Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. A...

Homeless services advocates from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties are considering placing a small community of modular tiny homes in a church parking lot in Watsonville, aimed at reducing the number of people camped out along the Pajaro River. The project comes thanks to an...

Watsonville Police detain a suspect in a stolen car incident Tuesday morning in the Overlook Center on Main Street in Watsonville. Sgt. Javier Ayala said the Toyota Sienna minivan had been reported stolen out of Watsonville and that it was spotted by WPD staff...

Around 300 people joined the peaceful “March Towards Love and Courage” Monday evening from the London Nelson Community Center to Santa Cruz City Hall as part of Juneteenth.  Juneteenth, which celebrates the emancipation of slaves in the United States, was designated a federal holiday in...

Around 50 men slipped into pairs of bright red and pink high heels Friday for a quick dash around the block in downtown Santa Cruz during the 2023 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event. In its 11th year, the annual fun-filled gathering originated as...

A man described by police as a person of interest in a shooting that left nine people hurt in San Francisco June 9 was arrested in Santa Cruz Wednesday evening following a high-speed chase that started in Watsonville. Javier Campos, 22, was taken into custody...

Roughly 100 nurses who work at Watsonville Community Hospital gathered at the intersection of Airport Boulevard and Nielsen Street Tuesday to call attention to a recent scheduling change they say affects the way they do their job. The nurses were speaking out against a decision...

The Pajaro Valley Unified District Board of Trustees on Wednesday tabled a plan to change the way art and music classes are allocated to its elementary schools. In delaying the vote, the board agreed to return to the discussion after a study session of the...

Students invited to apply to Young Supervisors Academy  Santa Cruz County Supervisor Felipe Hernandez announced his Young Supervisors Academy for local high school and first-year college students.  The four-week program will be held at the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Government Building. This program focuses...