Community

Editor’s note: this story is a preview for the graduation section that will come out on Friday. We will do our best to highlight all the schools that held ceremonies. Over 90 students crossed the stage in front of a full house at the Henry...

Nearly three decades ago, the Queer Youth Leadership Awards (QYLA) was created to honor young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people (LGBTQ+) whose advocacy and activism have made notable impacts on their communities. Created by the Queer Youth Task Force, the annual ceremony is...

Paola Fregoso (left) and Lorelai Oliveira are joined by their dog, Luna, Monday in a promotion of their fireworks for sale at the Watsonville High Junior Wildcatz stand. Their temporary fireworks stand, at 716 East Lake Ave., is one of close to two dozen...

The Never Forget Memorial Relay was held Sunday in Aptos Village Park. The eighth annual  event featured 33  teams of four from police and fire departments, California State Parks, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office, the county Probation Department and others whose teams...

The City of Watsonville, Watsonville Wetlands Watch (WWW), and Community Arts & Empowerment are teaming up to design and install a new mosaic mural for the entrance wall of the new Nature Center scheduled to open in Ramsay Park in late 2025.  The artwork includes...

The annual Obon Festival will take place July 21 at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple. Open to the public, the event will include entertainment, a vendor’s market, childrens’ games and an array of traditional foods. The festival culminates in a dance, known as Bon-Odori, which participants practice...

In the decade between 2013-23, volunteers and nonprofits picked up 439,358 cigarette butts from Santa Cruz County’s beaches and natural areas, accounting for a quarter of all litter found here. That’s according to Save Our Shores (SOS), a Santa Cruz-based nonprofit that works to support...

In a little more than a year, Ramsay Park in Watsonville will boast a new dog park, a new multi-use synthetic sports field, a new state-of-the-art nature center and new lights for its pathways, parking lots and athletic fields. Plans also include an all-inclusive playground,...

The Monterey Bay Cactus and  Succulent Society will hold its annual Spring Show and Sale April 12-14 in Watsonville. Attendees can learn from seasoned plant experts and view hundreds of cacti and succulents, as well as pottery and supplies at the three-day event. Also on board...

Riverside Drive was closed to traffic and two homes were evacuated Wednesday afternoon between Union  Street and Marchant Street after construction crews ruptured a natural gas line. Watsonville Fire officials said the pipeline break was reported at 2:29pm in a section of the road that...