Reward offered in Pleasure Point kidnapping case
SANTA CRUZ — A group of citizens is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the kidnapping and murder of Santa Cruz County resident Tushar Atre.
The information must be received no later than Nov. 30.
Atre was kidnapped on Oct. 1...
PG&E customers may be eligible for power shutoff compensation
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers affected by the recent Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) may qualify for reimbursements.
The more than 45,000 PG&E customers that lost power in Santa Cruz County over the weekend are not eligible for the utility’s Safety Net program,...
Watsonville residents get spooky for Halloween
WATSONVILLE—Hector Quiroz is making up for lost time—and holidays.
The 51-year-old Watsonville resident said he lived in a group home from sixth grade through high school. That meant Halloween and Christmas—the two holidays many kids look forward to the most—were muted experiences.
“My belief is that...
Knife wielder shuts down SC bridge
Santa Cruz Police shut down the Water Street Bridge in Santa Cruz Monday for about 90 minutes where a woman reportedly waved a knife at people early Tuesday. The incident was coupled with an unrelated major water main break and flooding.
Around 1 p.m. the...
Smashing pumpkins: WHS students showcase engineering prowess with trebuchets
WATSONVILLE—Roughly two dozen Watsonville High School students launched pumpkins into the sky with their class-made trebuchets, a large wooden catapult from a bygone era, at the school’s campus Friday morning.
Two Advanced Placement (A.P.) physics classes of juniors and seniors lined up 11 trebuchets at...
Community voices worries of syringes
WATSONVILLE—The future of Santa Cruz County’s syringe services program was in the community’s hands this week.
In two meetings held by the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency in Santa Cruz on Nov. 14 and Watsonville on Tuesday, officials asked attendees to outline what questions...
Two boys struck in crosswalk suffer major injuries
WATSONVILLE—Two boys were seriously injured early Tuesday morning when a car struck them as they crossed Walker Street.
Watsonville Police Sgt. Donny Thul said the boys, ages 11 and 12, were using a crosswalk to cross Walker Street from east to west at West Lake...
County joins lawsuit to halt oil, mineral extraction
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 agreed to allow the county to join a lawsuit that would stop the federal government from issuing leases for fossil fuel extraction within its borders.
The lawsuit would in essence help preserve local...
Feds give county homelessness program $3.4M
The Homeless Action Partnership of Santa Cruz County was recently awarded $3,449,500 in federal grants to address local homelessness, a 31 percent increase over the prior year.
The annual grants support numerous programs including permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals, family housing, behavioral health...
State apologizes to Japanese Americans for imprisonment
SACRAMENTO—Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation Thursday declaring Feb. 19, 2020, as A Day of Remembrance: Japanese American Evacuation in the State of California.
Starting in 1942 roughly 120,000 Japanese Americans were rounded up and held at 10 “internment camps” during World War II over...
Truck plunges into creek in Watsonville
END OVER END Tow operators from Chaz Towing work on a plan to haul a GMC Sierra pickup out of Corralitos Creek on...