News

A 4.6-magnitude earthquake centered in Boulder Creek rattled the Central Coast at 1:41am Thursday morning, with tremors felt as far north as Santa Rosa, northwest to Sacramento and Fresno and south to Salinas, according to the United States Geological Survey. No damage or injuries were...

Caltrans crews will perform safety improvement projects in Watsonville starting March 30, which will result in daytime and overnight closures of lanes along Highway 129 and 152. Travelers will encounter the following closures: • Hwy 129, from Highway 1 to Union Street: Daytime lane closures Monday...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday will consider a series of utility rate increases over the next five years to fund infrastructure upgrades they say will help meet new regulations and keep water, wastewater and solid waste systems financially stable. A new rate study presented...

A new Watsonville businesses celebrated a milestone on Friday, and another is planning its own. Staff of Life grocery store is planning to ring in its five-year anniversary, and Angry Chickz restaurant opened its doors for the first time. Alejandro Rodriguez and his mother used...

Supporters of a proposed ballot measure to fund Santa Cruz County transit will hold a campaign kickoff event later this month as organizers ramp up signature gathering ahead of a qualification deadline. The Friends of Santa Cruz METRO initiative is scheduled to host the event...

Watsonville High School juniors Michelle Sanchez and Brianna Barrera were selected for California Boys and Girls State by Edward H. Lorenson American Legion Post 121 of Watsonville. Commander Jose Medina, Adjutant Barbara Adamski and Historian Russell Gray chose the two students for their “Leadership...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District teachers often dread the week of March 15, the state’s deadline to issue layoff notices or “pink-slips” to workers across the district.  These notices are preliminary warnings, and don’t always guarantee an official termination of employment. But in past years,...

Road trips around California—including Sacramento, Atascadero, the desert, San Diego or north to Half Moon Bay and Fort Bragg—have time and again proven worthy of the fuel, hotel costs and drive time for me and my wife Sarah over the past several years.  Whether an...

The nation’s oldest farmworker union announced Tuesday that it has canceled all events celebrating labor organizer César Chávez after allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted several women and girls. “As a women-led organization that exists to empower communities, the allegations about abusive behavior by César...

A former Watsonville hotel is set to be converted into a 120-bed residential treatment facility for men, significantly expanding substance use disorder treatment capacity in Santa Cruz County. Janus of Santa Cruz officially received the keys on March 9 to the former Rodeway Inn property...