Local News

WATSONVILLE—As a new teacher, Brogan Dahl knows how difficult it can be to live in Santa Cruz County on an educator’s salary. She also has experienced the frustration of wanting to bring creativity into her lessons while under the limiting mantle of a strict...

SANTA CRUZ—A man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a large number of illegal drugs for sale Monday on the West Side of Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Narcotic Enforcement Team found Michael Rodgers in his car near Shaefer Road at Delaware...

WATSONVILLE—A New Year has begun, and with it comes the start of Census 2020. The U.S Constitution mandates that every 10 years the country’s population should be counted. The information is then used to distribute federal funding and to determine political representation in each state. “The...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors retooled the county’s syringe exchange program during its Dec. 10 meeting, limiting the amount that people can trade for clean ones on behalf of other people.  This practice, known as secondary exchange, is believed by advocates to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Just 24 hours after thousands of people rallied around the country in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump, including Watsonville and Santa Cruz, those people got their wish. On Wednesday Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. The House...

SANTA CRUZ—A man was shot late Tuesday night in the Beach Flats area of Santa Cruz near the Beach Boardwalk. At least two shots were reported by multiple witnesses around Third Street at Kaye Street at 9:14 p.m. Joyce Blaschke of the Santa Cruz Police...

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...

WATSONVILLE—Local realtors and brokers are urging the community to be aware of an online rental scam that is taking advantage of desperate renters. The scam strips information from sale listings on various websites, repackages them as hyper-affordable rental listings and posts them on sites such...

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health Services showed off its new South County facility Friday, a building that has allowed the agency to more than double its space and bring an expanded offering of mental health services to the Watsonville area. The building at 1430 Freedom...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office installed a new body scanner Tuesday at the intake area of the Main Jail to help snare contraband before it is brought in.  The Tek84 scanner, which is similar to those used at airports to screen travelers, provides...