News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz area California Highway Patrol has brought aboard a new Captain, Aron Ching.  Born and raised in the Hawaiian Islands, Ching moved to California to pursue a career with the CHP and has been with the department for 23 years.  His new...

SOQUEL—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a man after finding a massive amount of illegal drugs and firearms in his Soquel residence. Eli Burry, 39, was charged with possession of narcotics for sale, possession of a controlled substance while armed and weapons violations....

Located on a busy thoroughfare between Aptos and Watsonville, Bamboo Giant Nursery and Gardens (BGNG) could easily be driven past without a second glance.  But the nursery, tucked into the side of a hill in a rural, forested section of Freedom Boulevard, is actually one...

Patrick and Teresa Royan were living in Los Gatos when they first discovered Pleasant Valley, a rural area in Aptos permeated with rolling hills, orchards, vineyards and pastures. The couple had been looking for a place to settle relatively close to the beach yet...

WATSONVILLE—The Covid-19 community testing site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville is now open to all residents of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. First opened to frontline healthcare workers, first responders and employees working in essential services and roles, the site will now test everyone, including...

WATSONVILLE — In a tumultuous meeting packed with nearly 100 people, the newly transformed Santa Cruz County Fair Board appointed Don Dietrich as interim Fair CEO, a move that added another chapter to a story that began on Oct. 4 when the Board fired...

Zach Friend is running for his third term as Santa Cruz County Supervisor in the 2nd District against a familiar foe. Becky Steinbruner, an outspoken community activist living in rural Aptos, will challenge the incumbent for the second time. She lost to Friend in 2016,...

APTOS—A man was taken to a Bay Area trauma center Sunday afternoon after the car he was in crashed into a ditch along Valencia Road, causing a collision that drove a large branch through the windshield. According to the California Highway Patrol, the driver of...

The City of Capitola has temporarily closed its wharf after high winter surf damaged two supportive piles on New Year’s Day. Engineers who inspected the damage—which occurred underneath the small boat hoist—installed a steel beam that spans the failed area on Saturday so the hoist...

WATSONVILLE—Five years after Michel Escobar gunned down a rival gang member, and killed a young girl when one of his bullets went astray, a jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder and several special allegations. Escobar, now 36, will likely be sentenced to...