Local News

WATSONVILLE—A 26-year-old Santa Cruz County man died Saturday after he was bitten by a shark in the waters just off Manresa State Beach, California Public Safety Superintendent Gabe McKenna confirmed. The victim has been identified as Santa Cruz resident Ben Kelly, a prominent surfboard maker...

Since Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Chona Killeen started her position ion July 1, she and her department have hired more than 100 new teachers. The Pajaro Valley Unified School District in early August was still looking for 22 teachers, a number that was shrinking as candidates came in for interviews less than a week before classes resumed, Killeen said. The number is down from about 200 vacancies four weeks ago, said interim Assistant Director of Secondary Education Terry Eastman.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—As arrangements are being made for the memorial of Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, who was gunned down June 6 in Ben Lomond, local colleagues and fellow law enforcement personnel are gathering their thoughts about the man with the beaming...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville police are again warning the public to be careful with their credit and debit cards after an investigator found two card skimmers at a gas pump. Credit card skimmers are often installed on gas pumps by criminals to steal account information. They can be...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A team of six pilots took the sky over Santa Cruz County Saturday in a first-ever local aerial tribute to those giving to their community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lightning Formation Airshows (LFA), with support from Watsonville Municipal Airport, painted the sky with...

Hundreds of Santa Cruz County families could lose their federal rental assistance as early as December unless Congress restores funding to a pandemic-era housing voucher program, local officials warned Tuesday. The agency provides federally funded rental vouchers to nearly 6,000 households in Santa Cruz County,...

These boys examine the damage where a Watsonville woman rammed into a room at the Rio Sands Hotel, 130 Aptos Beach Drive, in Rio del Mar Monday. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the woman claimed the brakes failed in her Honda Accord as she pulled into a parking space at the hotel around 11:20 a.m. No injuries were reported. The driver reportedly did not have a license.

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...