Local News

WATSONVILLE—The city of Watsonville will likely ask its residents to approve a half-cent sales tax increase in the November election that would raise the city’s sales tax to 9.75%—the most the municipality is allowed to tax its residents. The Watsonville City Council did not place...

Dr. Leonor Xóchitl Pérez was 12 years old when she first played mariachi. It was 1973, and her school in Southern California had just created the first school-based mariachi program in the state’s history.  The music stuck with Perez. When she was 18, she was accepted...

SANTA CRUZ—A Watsonville man was arrested Monday on suspicion of homicide in a 16-year-old case regarding the death of his stepdaughter, Dilcia Mejia, in Florida.  Raul Mata, 46, has been charged with first-degree murder, the Miami-Dade Police Department said. The Homicide Bureau, Cold Case Unit,...

WATSONVILLE—Two men accused of stealing an SUV were arrested Monday after an off-duty Watsonville Police officer spotted the pair casing vehicles in a neighborhood off of Lighthouse Drive. Christian Torres, 18, and Jesus Torres, 19, face charges for vehicle theft, petty theft, and for obstructing...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—When the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) on April 1 narrowly rejected a business plan that laid out how to pay for a countywide passenger rail system, it sidelined a project that could have benefitted thousands of South County residents...

WATSONVILLE—The Kmart store at 1702 Freedom Blvd. in Watsonville will permanently close its doors on Aug. 22, the company announced through a publicity agency on Tuesday. The store will begin to wrap up business beginning Thursday. The announcement did not contain any further information. Transformco, the...

WATSONVILLE—After 18 years at the helm of the Lutheran Community Church of Watsonville, and 40 years total as an ordained minister, Rev. Susan Birkelo will soon retire. Born in Minnesota, Birkelo’s family moved to San Diego when she was still in kindergarten. After school, she...

WATSONVILLE—Two 18-year-olds who Watsonville police believe fatally shot another 18-year-old on April 2 were arrested Tuesday morning on murder charges. Erick DeHaro and Matthew Madriz were charged with first-degree murder. They were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail without bail. According to Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) lifted its mandatory face mask mandate for vaccinated staff and riders effective Tuesday.  The move came a day after the Transportation Security Administration advised public transport operators that they no longer need to enforce the federal...

WATSONVILLE—A new pilot program to inform residents of hazardous pesticide applications at area farmlands, under the umbrella of the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, will go into motion in August.  The program was outlined by Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo at a community meeting at...