Local News

WATSONVILLE—The road has been rocky this year for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, as the state went from a rosy pre-coronavirus budget surplus in January to the potential of $19 million in reductions in May. Those numbers have changed yet again, after Gov. Gavin...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) on Friday announced it has named Michael Tree its new CEO/General Manager. Tree has nearly three decades of experience in the public transit industry and city management, most recently as Executive Director of the Livermore Amador Valley...

Following the retirement announcement of long-time Executive Director David Vincent, Leadership Santa Cruz County has begun its search for a new executive director.

The County of Santa Cruz has filed a complaint against several pharmaceutical corporations, alleging that they are complicit in fueling the national opioid crisis. The 140-page complaint accuses opioid manufacturing companies of racketeering, negligence, fraud, false advertising and creating a public nuisance. According to the complaint, drug manufacturers downplayed the risks of prescription opioids in order to increase sales.

WATSONVILLE—When April Ortiz became pregnant during her senior year at Watsonville High School, severe morning sickness and other complications sidelined her education. Then came the birth. “Mothering was a new life and a new experience,” she said.  Ortiz, now 26, received her GED on May 22 from...

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday named the man suspected of shooting two people at a residence in the Aptos hills Wednesday afternoon.ve Aptos Wednesday.

Santa Cruz Police arrested a man early Tuesday morning after he allegedly set a fire inside a gymnasium, and then struggled with police who came to arrest him.

LIVE OAK—Santa Cruz County’s first-ever inclusive playground officially opened Saturday at Chanticleer Park in Live Oak  LEO's Haven, a playground designed to welcome children with disabilities such as blindness, mobility impairment and autism, is the centerpiece of the $4 million rebuild of the 4.5-acre park. The...

By JAKE PIERCE, Good Times APTOS—The site of the old Seabreeze Tavern caught fire Sunday night after 9pm, and the blaze quickly grew out of control. Watsonville Fire Battalion Chief Corey Schaefer said units responded to a reported fire on the Esplanade in Aptos. When they...

WATSONVILLE—A candidate for Watsonville City Council is calling for Councilwoman Ari Parker to resign for abuse of power after she challenged his standing as a teacher on his candidate statement, and asked City officials to scrub his designation. But Parker is saying that she...