Local News

UPDATE (12:57am, 10/25) Watsonville police say a third man was shot before midnight Saturday on Blackbird Circle behind Ramsay Park—a short walk from the scene of the night’s second homicide. The victim was in critical condition, Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said. It is unclear if...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A serial killer who murdered 13 people nearly five decades ago—most of them in Santa Cruz County—was denied parole Thursday during a virtual hearing. Herbert Mullin, 74, will not be eligible for parole for another seven years. He is in custody at Mule...

MOSS LANDING—Two women died after their car plunged into the water of Moss Landing Harbor sometime late Friday night or early Saturday morning. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has identified the victims as Maria Vanessa Carrango, 35, and Esther Monique Espinoza, 28, both of Salinas....

WATSONVILLE—After more than seven decades in business, Yamashita Market—Santa Cruz County’s only store dedicated to Asian cooking supplies—is set to close its doors for good, likely sometime in July. The store’s owner Goro Yamashita says that business was steadily declining even before Covid-19 forced businesses...

WATSONVILLE—For many residents, January 1930 represents a dark time in the history of Watsonville. For five days, hundreds of armed white men took to the city’s streets, targeting and beating Filipino-American farmworkers who they claimed were stealing their jobs and women. The riots came to a head...

WATSONVILLE—A man that tested positive for COVID-19 died Friday at Watsonville Community Hospital, Halsen Healthcare CEO Dan Brothman confirmed on Saturday morning. Brothman did not release any information about the victim.   Two sources, however, said the victim was not from Santa Cruz County. They were speaking...

SANTA CRUZ—The man who was 15 when he kidnapped, raped and murdered 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton and then dumped her body in a recycling bin was sentenced Tuesday to juvenile prison until he turns 25 in October 2024. Adrian “A.J.” Gonzalez, now 21, must also...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police are searching for a man who they believe is the primary suspect in his wife’s murder. Police believe that Cesar Hernandez, 47, murdered his 24-year-old wife at their Watsonville home on the 700 block of Rodriguez Street, and then drove her in the...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Community Hospital has a new owner. Halsen Healthcare announced Tuesday that the $30 million sale was finalized at midnight. “This is the first day that Halsen actually owns Watsonville Community Hospital,” Chairman and CEO Dan Brothman said. Halsen was holding a celebratory afternoon barbecue for its...