Watsonville News

Last week when we spoke to Food Network Star Robert Irvine as he prepared to revitalize Ristorante Barolo in Aptos on his show "Restaurant: Impossible," we thought we'd pick his brain on a creative way to use ingredients that are grown here in Santa Cruz County.

Those who want to appear on the June 5 primary ballot must file from Monday to March 9. Offices up for elections include U.S. Senate, the 18th and 20th congressional Districts, the 17th District for state Senate, the 29th and 30th state Assembly Districts, and county Board of Supervisor seats in the 1st, 2nd and 5th Districts.

Costco, which has a store in Santa Cruz, was the only retail chain rated outstanding for overall merchandise quality in a Consumer Reports' survey of more than 26,000 readers.

Three men who bought alcohol for an underage boy were ticketed during a police sting operation outside three stores in Santa Cruz on Tuesday.

A judge has reinstated the prison term of a former Monterey County social worker convicted of stealing nearly $150,000 from county welfare clients.

A Watsonville real estate agent charged with nearly 50 counts of embezzlement, forgery and theft pleaded not guilty to all charges in court Friday morning and now faces trial.

A 23-year-old Ceres woman was killed Friday morning when she lost control of her car and collided with a dumptruck on Highway 129 near Carlton Road.

A Watsonville auto repair business was ticketed Thursday for not having the proper Workers Compensation Insurance coverage for employees, the District Attorney's Office reported.

Workers pick strawberries at an Oxnard field of Watsonville, Calif.-based Well-Pict Inc.

Local law enforcement agencies have come together and are asking for the public's help in locating some of the county's most wanted.

A 25-year-old man found himself with a black eye and behind bars Wednesday after his fall off a bar stool revealed a loaded handgun he was carrying, police said.

Our cover gal, Glee 's Jane Lynch, may be everyone's favorite mean girl. But we thought it would be fun, this Valentine's Day, 2012, to mine her inner softie.

A 39-year-old Salinas woman was sentenced today on a previously suspended prison term for embezzling nearly $150,000, the Monterey County District Attorney said. Sara Juarez was ordered to serve a term of nine years and four months by Superior Court Judge Adrienne Grover, the District Attorney’s Office said. In April 2006, they said, Juarez admitted to stealing more than $100,000, and pleaded guilty to grand theft, 12 counts each of identity theft and fraudulent use of an access card, and filing a false tax return. From June 2004 to September 2005, the District Attorney’s Office said, Juarez worked as an eligibility worker at the Department of Social Services’ office in Salinas. They said she stole more than $148,000 using Electronic Benefits Transfer Cards, or EBT cards, and personal identification numbers of 23 welfare clients to withdraw unauthorized cash aid funds. Superior Court Judge Richard Curtis imposed a sentence of nine years and four months in April 2006, the District Attorney’s Office said, suspending the term on the condition that she successfully completes a 10-year probation period. They said Juarez, using the name “Sara Yniguez,” was hired as an office manager in 2008 by the Monterey Structural Steel Company in Watsonville. The District Attorney’s Office said Juarez, responsible for payroll and business accounts, failed to notify her new employer of her felony embezzlement conviction – a violation of probation terms. From February 2009 to January 2011, they said, Juarez stole more than $45,000 from the company by fraudulent payroll disbursements and using business accounts to pay for personal expenses. In November, the District Attorney’s Office said, Juarez admitted to a probation violation based on the embezzlement in Watsonville. There hasn’t been any embezzlement charges filed in Santa Cruz County, they said. - Sunita Vijayan, svijayan@thecalifornian.com

A jewelry store owner who was shot in the ear during a robbery Wednesday night suffered nonlife-threatening injuries and is recovering, according to Watsonville police.

Watsonville Police Log, Thursday, Feb. 9 12:42 a.m.-A 26-year-old man was arrested for being drunk in public on the 100 block of Blanca Lane.

Sheriff's deputies are continuing their search for Eldrege Collins Worrell, who escaped from the Rountree Detention Center on Tuesday while turning in his jail clothes to the laundry.

Tim Hammill remembers the first time he ate at Cassidy's Pizza Palace. It was in the mid-1970s, and he was 10 years old.

Sgt. Tony Magdayao said a lone suspect clad in black with a black mask over his face brandished a handgun at the store owner and demanded jewelry and cash about 6:25 p.m. There was a struggle and the suspect fired shots, one hitting the store owner in the ear.

Sgt. Tony Magdayao said a man clad in black with a black mask over his face brandished a handgun at the store's owner and demanded jewelry and cash about 6:25 p.m. There was a struggle and the robber fired shots.

City officials said the shed that caught fire at 142 Grant St. Tuesday night had been cited by a building inspector in 2007 and moved away from the main home because it had been built over a property line.