News

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...

WATSONVILLE—Cal Fire on Tuesday night ordered more than 22,000 residents in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties to evacuate as the CZU August Lightning Complex fires began to spread throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains. Temporary shelters have been set up across the region to house...

APTOS—A blaze that Aptos/La Selva Fire said was likely started by a homeless person seeking warmth has felled one of the towers that once reached into the sky alongside Highway 1 in Aptos. The tower was part of a quintet of now-silent radio antennae that...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville pilots, and the city’s municipal airport, are asking for help after several aircraft were struck by laser light. The phenomenon, known as laser strikes, occurs when someone on the ground points a laser light at a pilot. It is a federal offense, with five years...

Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:50am on April 10 with new information. Watsonville officials said Friday that a proposed plan to house a designated sexually violent predator at a Main Street motel has been halted after the property owner withdrew, citing community opposition. The...

Zach Friend is running for his third term as Santa Cruz County Supervisor in the 2nd District against a familiar foe. Becky Steinbruner, an outspoken community activist living in rural Aptos, will challenge the incumbent for the second time. She lost to Friend in 2016,...

A New York-based theater director and play creator will be one of the speakers at the Saturday Shakespeare Club which begins its new morning series of discussions at 10 a.m. on Jan. 12 in Christ Lutheran Church, 10707 Soquel Drive in Aptos.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The World Health Organization on Wednesday classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, as lawmakers and leaders worldwide grapple with rapidly growing numbers of cases. There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have died. Thousands more have been hospitalized,...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday voted to permanently end its School Resource Officer program at Watsonville, Pajaro Valley and Aptos high schools, and to redirect the funds to socio-emotional counselors. The district will also look into creating wellness centers...

APTOS—Ten years ago, former President Barack Obama made a Presidential Proclamation deeming January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, intending to raise awareness and equip people with the tools to recognize and combat the problem. It was only 10 years prior to that, that...