Free Republic

A verdict came down in the murder trial of a Capitola woman who was killed by her boyfriend back in Dec. 2023. A former San Francisco rock band member, Theobald "Theo" Lengyel ,54, was found guilty in the murder of Alice “Alyx” Herrmann. He was found guilty of first-degree murder. Prosecutors had alleged Lengyel strangled his then-girlfriend Alice Herrmann, 61, and then buried her body in a Berkeley park. The former tech worker and saxophonist in funk-metal band Mr. Bungle has not denied killing Herrmann but his lawyers say the circumstances do not rise to the category of first-degree murder;...

The Capitola Wharf will celebrate its grand reopening on Wednesday after being rebuilt following its destruction in a winter storm last year. "It looked very much like this, and so we're very sensitive to wanting to make sure we kept that look," said Gerry Jensen a fundraiser coordinator. The new gate at the wharf is wider, with shorter columns and glistening mosaic artwork, made possible by an excess in community donations. The fundraiser aimed to enhance the wharf's features. "We were trying to raise $250,000, but we raised $425,000, and that's just because of the messaging from our group to...

Heavy rain, powerful winds and over 30-foot waves battered Capitola overnight and into Thursday afternoon, wreaking havoc to coastal businesses. "We have sustained some significant damage on the Capitola Wharf, so we're declaring a state of emergency," Mayor Margaux Keiser said Wednesday afternoon. About 350 people were given evacuation orders in Capitola Village—the city's main tourist destination filled with shops and restaurants—and a neighborhood along the Soquel Creek, where the water level shot up above ten feet, beyond what city officials predicted. "Where we would have expected it with this high tide is probably around six feet, yet we were...

A Watsonville couple was arrested for allegedly robbing women's purses at gun point with their three year old son in the car, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said the couple, Diana Pacheco, 20 and Antonio Bravo, 20, robbed women at gunpoint in Live Oak and Capitola on Aug. 22nd.

Swiftly exceeding demand Heidi Benson Sunday, September 19, 2004 "I don't usually order Regnery titles," said Marcia Rider, co-owner of Capitola Books in Santa Cruz County. "If people want to come in and special- order them, fine." But while Rider was on vacation, an optimistic colleague ordered 35 copies of "Unfit." "We have 26 on hand," Rider said. They've sold just one copy since Sept. 1, and will return to the publisher those that don't sell. "We've got a bunch of them up on a very top shelf. Yesterday someone came in and put them face out," said Rider. "People...