Home | The Pajaronian | Watsonville, CA

Featured

Watsonville welcomes new chiefs

February 13, 2026

Featured

Teen leads police on destructive chase

January 25, 2026

Featured

Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine taken, returned after uproar

January 23, 2026

Featured

Watsonville nurses rally against ICU closure

January 14, 2026

QUICK LINKS:

Felipe Hernandez launches campaign to keep 4th District seat

Local News

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Felipe Hernandez formally launched his reelection campaign for District 4 on Jan. 29, citing a record of infrastructure improvements, park...

County to seek federal disaster funding

Local News

Santa Cruz County can now apply for roughly $13.7 million in federal disaster recovery funds for “urgent need” infrastructure repairs and mitigation projects tied...

Santa Cruz County Fair theme announced

Local News

The folks at the Santa Cruz County Fair have chosen a theme for the 2026 fair: “Apple Pies and Starry Skies!” “This winning theme for...

PVUSD Trustees approve 14-day stay-away letter for Medina

Local News

Pajaro Valley Trustee Gabe Medina will be prohibited from entering the PV High campus for two weeks. In a tense Wednesday meeting characterized by arguments...

Watsonville clinches PCAL Mission Division title | Boys soccer

High School Sports

Watsonville High senior defender Damian Moreno knocked in the game-winning goal for the boys’ soccer team, and the Wildcatz defeated Pajaro Valley, 1-0, in...

Manny Contreras out as Watsonville High’s head football coach

High School Sports

In a stunning turn of events, Manny Contreras will not return as Watsonville High’s head football coach for the upcoming 2026 fall season. Contreras received...

CRIME, FIRE & COURTS

McGregor Drive to close Feb. 18-19 for Highway 1 construction

February 13, 2026

McGregor Drive will be fully closed between Park Avenue and State Park Drive from 6am. to 3:30pm Wednesday, Feb. 18, and Thursday, Feb. 19,...

A California Highway Patrol officer takes a man into custody after he found an unregistered handgun in his possession during a car stop.

CHP finds unregistered handgun

February 13, 2026

A man was arrested following a routine traffic stop in Watsonville Feb. 7 after California Highway Patrol officers discovered a loaded handgun in his...

Suspect nabbed on bomb threat

February 6, 2026

Watsonville Police arrested a man on Jan. 28 for making a bomb threat to a local hospital. WPD spokeswoman Erika Vazquez said WPD arrested 32-year-old...

Teens arrested in Jan. 19 shooting

February 6, 2026

Two 17-year-olds have been arrested in connection with an attempted murder following an operation Tuesday. Detectives, with the help of local law enforcement partners, served...

OPINION

Stuck inside a courtroom with the Telone blues again

February 13, 2026

In the labyrinthine nature of pesticide reincarnation, it’s hard to know where to begin. 1,3-D (Telone) originated as a byproduct of oil refining. In the 1930s, Hawaiian pineapple plantations were being decimated by nematodes in the soil; Shell Oil had on hand some barrels of toxic 1,3-D that they had...