Home | The Pajaronian | Watsonville, CA

Featured

A tale of two Rubys: Walks to school 65 years apart show societal progress

November 14, 2025

Featured

County releases draft plan to regulate BESS facilities

November 7, 2025

Featured

With new bleachers, Watsonville High ‘Catz ready to roar

October 21, 2025

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Santa Cruz County’s open approach to battery storage puts safety and community first

Local News

Over the past year, Santa Cruz County has been doing something few communities have attempted: building one of the most rigorous, safety-focused battery storage...

Community events

Local News

Mello Center Student Concerts ArtSmart Mello Center Shows are designed for elementary students to experience world-class artists in a theater setting. Tickets are $2 per seat. The...

An ocean view, pollution included

Local News

There was a lot of trash talk Sunday in Santa Cruz. Not gossip. Literal trash. In the ocean and deep into the food chain. Close to...

Residents demand more oversight of new BESS facilities

Local News

Almost a year after the largest lithium-ion battery storage facility in the world caught fire at Moss Landing, spewing toxic material and forcing the...

SF’s Whitmeyer; PV’s Magallon earn PCAL’s top honors | Girls flag football

High School Sports

A trio of local girls flag football players received some of the highest honors for their performances on the gridiron during the 2025 fall...

PVUSD trustees mull more than 150 layoffs

Local News

In the middle of more than an hour of public comment Wednesday during the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, Gabriel...

CRIME, FIRE & COURTS

Police looking for Utah woman missing from Rio Del Mar State...

November 11, 2025

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office is looking for Danielle Staley, 35, who was last seen on Nov. 6, around 11:23pm near Rio Del...

Watsonville man arrested in sexual assault

November 11, 2025

A 19-year-old Watsonville man has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting an underage girl. Christopher Medina Amezquita was arrested in Capitola with help from...

Watsonville Police Department holds awards ceremony for outstanding employees

October 30, 2025

Dozens of law enforcement and emergency first responders gathered in the Watsonville City Council Chambers Wednesday for a promotional and award ceremony honoring Watsonville...

Man shot to death in Main Street business center

October 29, 2025

A 34-year-old man was shot and killed Wednesday night near a suite of restaurants and businesses that includes Chipotle and Habit Burger on the...

OPINION

Letters to the Editor Nov. 14-20

November 14, 2025

PVUSD cuts necessary The Pajaro Valley Unified School District is finally being forced to face financial reality. Many of the positions now being eliminated were funded by one-time Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, which expired in February 2024. That temporary COVID money was never meant to support...