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Aptos
November 7, 2026

Man arrested for celebratory gunfire gone awry

douglas paz
FREEDOM—A Freedom man was arrested Saturday after a bullet he fired during a July 4 celebration ricocheted off the ground and entered a nearby residence, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said. The bullet came within inches of a 10-year-old girl in her Miller...

Bamboo Giant offering first-ever nighttime walkthrough experience

Located on a busy thoroughfare between Aptos and Watsonville, Bamboo Giant Nursery and Gardens (BGNG) could easily be driven past without a second glance.  But the nursery, tucked into the side of a hill in a rural, forested section of Freedom Boulevard, is actually one...

Suspects arrested in Tushar Atre kidnapping, murder case

Tushar Atre arrest
Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the Oct. 1 kidnapping and murder of tech executive and Pleasure Point resident Tushar Atre.  On Tuesday night Kurtis Charters, 22, Joshua Camps, 23, and Stephen Lindsay, 22, were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail charged with murder, kidnapping...

Santa Cruz County Jail inmates holding hunger strike

According to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dee Baldwin, about 90 inmates began refusing their jail-provided meals on May 5 to protest a handful of issues such as a lack of warm clothing options, television programming and prices in the commissary.

Illegal fireworks keep local law enforcement busy on Fourth

Watsonville Police fireworks
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...

Formerly homeless grad part of historic Cabrillo College class

cabrillo college graduate Tomas Alejandrez
APTOS—Tomas Alejandrez was experiencing homeless and using drugs while living on the streets of Fresno when he was 39. Now 47, he is set to graduate from Cabrillo College today with three Associates degrees. He is one of 1,240 that will participate in the college’s...

Pedestrian struck, killed on Highway 1

highway 1 freedom boulevard fatal crash caltrans california highway patrol
APTOS—A man was struck and killed by an SUV early Thursday morning on Highway 1 in Aptos. California Highway Patrol Officer Alyssa Gutierrez said the victim was wandering around the southbound lanes on foot around 6:20am when he was struck by a Honda CRV driven...

Richard Del Piero, one of PVUSD’s founders, dies

Richard Del Piero
WATSONVILLE—Richard Del Piero was a Watsonville High School graduate, a U.S. Air Force Veteran and a local farmer who as a school board member in the 1960s helped reign in several local education agencies to create the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.  Del Piero died...

Brews, music and food

“California Beer Festival’s main goal is to shine a light on the craft beer movement and celebrate great beer,” said Festival Producer/Creator Vincenzo Giammanco, a Santa Cruz native. “For all those new, and familiar to the craft beer scene, this event is

Newsom signs several housing bills

WATSONVILLE—Governor Gavin Newsom on the final day of action for the 2019 legislative season signed Assembly Bill 1783, also known as the Farmworker Housing Act of 2019, which creates a streamlined process to build farmworker housing on agricultural land. The bill was authored by Assemblymember...