Local News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Watsonville firefighters had a “very busy Fourth of July” as they responded to a total of 24 calls in the 24-hour period surrounding the holiday, including medical calls and fires to vegetation, dumpsters and structures. Units were also out patrolling for illegal...

RIO DEL MAR—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Monday arrested two men for drug and gun charges after one of them pointed a loaded gun at another driver in a road rage incident. Damian Hernandez, 20, and Israel Ibarra, 18, both Morgan Hill residents, were...

SANTA CRUZ—The family of the 8-year-old girl who was murdered in 2015 is facing a new tragedy after someone stole the urn containing her ashes. Madyson “Maddy” Middleton’s family says that her father Michel Middleton was keeping the urn in the glovebox of his unlocked...

WATSONVILLE—A charter school that opened in Pajaro Valley Unified School District in 2019 – and which was tentatively slated to move into the former Gottschalk’s building on Main Street for the 2020-21 school year – will remain at E.A. Hall Middle School for at...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel said she will revise her shelter-in-place order later this week, after Gov. Gavin Newsom releases information about slightly loosening statewide restrictions. Newsom is expected to launch Stage 2 of his “Reopening Roadmap,” which will allow retail...

Ford Mustang buffs had their day in the sun May 5th on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf at the second annual Mustangs on the Wharf.

The County of Santa Cruz recently announced the expansion of the CalFresh food assistance program to serve people who receive Supplemental Security Income/Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) benefits began June 1.

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a Soquel man suspected of more than a dozen counts of sexual assault of a child. Luis Ortiz, 59, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. According to Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley...

At Cabrillo College, budding architects are gaining experience where many of their peers in the same major do not: by helping to build the homes they design.

Santa Cruz Police are looking for a man who allegedly stabbed two people Friday night in the downtown area.