Community

Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board (PVHCD) Chair and former Watsonville Community Hospital CEO John Friel, who took the lead of the fledgling agency at its outset in 2022, died March 21 after battling an undisclosed illness.  Friel resigned from his position on March 19,...

On Saturday morning, 48-year-old Gerardo Gutierrez was one of about a dozen men sitting in the day room at Salvation Army’s Watsonville location, quietly watching an old Vicente Fernández film playing silently on a television mounted to the ceiling. The men—most of them homeless—had stayed...

An 18-year-old Watsonville man was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of attempted murder.  Watsonville Police spokeswoman MIchelle Pulido said detectives served multiple search warrants linked to this case and arrested the suspect, Antwan Magaña. On Feb. 10, WPD Officers responded to reports of a shooting on...

Michael Rozen said Aug. 1 he would rather be playing sports with his friends than attending the weeklong Bruce W. Woolpert Algebra Academy offered by Graniterock.  While Michael stopped short of admitting an affinity for math, the 13-year-old admits the experience will prepare him for...

Barricades were recently taken down where Atkinson Lane meets Freedom Boulevard during construction of the new Tabasas Gardens homes (shown here). The lane had been closed to allow for construction for more than a year.

On Aug. 14, about 400 students will return to Pajaro Middle School, more than a year after flood waters forced the campus to close. This includes seventh-graders who spent their first middle school year at a different school. On Friday, several workers were continuing to...

The annual Mexican Independence Day Festival is set for Sunday in downtown Watsonville Sunday. Put on by Fiestas Patrias, the free event will feature live music, food booths, arts and crafts and information tables spread out around Watsonville Plaza and surrounding streets.  This year the...

Fourth grade students from Mar Vista Elementary School get an up-close view of a Robinson 22 helicopter Tuesday during a tour of the Watsonville Municipal Airport. Now in its third year, the community outreach program by the Municipal Airport exposed kids to various aspects...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District on Friday named its new superintendent. The district’s Board of Trustees appointed Heather Contreras in closed session during its March 13 board meeting.  “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Heather Contreras as our new Superintendent,” Board President Georgia Acosta stated in...