Local News

WATSONVILLE—Cafe Ella owners Erika Conrad and Jennifer DeVault say they are hopeful that their business will persevere through the COVID-19 crisis. The twin sisters, who took over the small cafe on East Lake Avenue from Ella’s at the Airport owner Ella King last year, said...

WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man was arrested Tuesday after police found a kilo of heroin worth at least $80,000 and an assault rifle while executing a search warrant. Gerardo R. Valencia, 29, was arrested on suspicion of possessing narcotics for sale and an illegal weapon, jail records...

Watsonville Fire Capt. Matt Ryan (right) pays thanks to fellow firefighters from multiple agencies, various police, family and friends Tuesday morning at a farewell breakfast on his final shift as a firefighter. Born in 1962 at the old Watsonville Community Hospital, Ryan said he...

A state budget approved Monday by California legislators will, among other things, bring $20 million to the town of Pajaro to help residents recover from the flooding that inundated the area in March. The funds are available to all residents, regardless of immigration status. The budget...

WATSONVILLE—As the three dozen or so people attending a Feb. 10 virtual meeting about the future of Watsonville’s downtown gave their final comments, one speaker’s remarks invoked some smiles and produced nodding heads from the rows of attendees displayed in their windows. “We’re talking to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Families across Santa Cruz County are invited to participate in Noon in the Park, a free, virtual program featuring community leaders singing, reading books and creating art. Each day is different.  Kate Pavao and Aaron Lazenby, who run the Live Like Coco Foundation, will...

On Tuesday, a group of Greenway supporters handed a stack of petitions with more than 10,000 signatures to Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s new director Guy Preston.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Watsonville man arrested last month for allegedly killing his stepdaughter 16 years ago in Florida has died after severing the femoral artery in his leg while in jail and suffering hemorrhagic shock, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said Tuesday. Raul...

WATSONVILLE—Three students from Watsonville recently took part in a weeklong summer program in Sacramento that teaches young people to be part of their local and state governments. The program—called Boys State—is sponsored by the American Legion. The event includes such activities as mock legislative sessions...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution to send a letter to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission demanding it not split Watsonville from its fellow Santa Cruz County cities in the upcoming congressional redistricting. The letter, penned by outgoing Mayor Jimmy Dutra,...