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October 14, 2026

USDA announces new feeding program

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced March 17 a collaboration with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo and others to deliver nearly a million meals per week to students in a limited number of rural schools closed due...

Challenger vies for PVUSD trustee seat

Editor's note: Three new candidates have tossed their hats in the ring for seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees districts 2, 3 and 6. Those seats are currently filled by Georgia Acosta, Oscar Soto and Adam Scow, respectively. None of...

Lakeside Organic Gardens celebrates 25 years

When Dick Peixoto decided in 1996 to convert his 55-acre farm in Watsonville to an organic production, he wasn’t sure if he’d made the right decision.  Peixoto had been farming conventionally for years, and back then, organic produce was a specialty—something only smaller farms tended...

CDFA seeks members for advisory committee

CALIFORNIA—The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is currently accepting applications from stakeholders interested in serving on a Registered Service Agency (RSA) Advisory Committee. Business and Professions Code (BPC), Division 5, Chapter 5.5, Section 12541 authorizes the RSA Advisory Committee to advise the Department...

Watsonville clearing homeless camps along Pajaro River Levee

Watsonville city officials on Monday began clearing a sprawling unsanctioned homeless encampment along the Pajaro River that runs from Sakata Lane to Loughead Avenue. The work, which includes mowing tall grasses and removing some trees, is expected to last through Aug. 2, Watsonville City spokeswoman...

Adrian Gonzalez’s bid for freedom denied, case heads to jury trial

A Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge ruled Tuesday that there is enough evidence that the man who raped and killed 8-year-old Madyson (Maddy) Middleton in 2015 would pose a continued danger to the public if he is released. Adrian Jerry (A.J.) Gonzalez, now 24,...

Open Farm Tours returns to the Pajaro Valley

Farms across the Pajaro Valley will open to the public for two days of family-friendly activities Oct. 12-13.

Short trip, big rewards in San Francisco

Road trips around California—including Sacramento, Atascadero, the desert, San Diego or north to Half Moon Bay and Fort Bragg—have time and again proven worthy of the fuel, hotel costs and drive time for me and my wife Sarah over the past several years.  Whether an...

Watsonville farm, biotech company receives major grant from USDA

Since 2009, Blume Industries (BI) and Whiskey Hill Farms (WHF) have jointly operated a research and development incubator in Watsonville, aiming to find regenerative solutions for food, fuel and waste management. And now they will have the opportunity to expand their reach, sharing what they...

Second Saturday Logo Contest underway

Organizers of the Second Saturday art and cultural event in Watsonville invite all artists and designers to create a logo that captures the spirit of Second Saturday.  The next event is Jan 1 The free ongoing event, which runs the second Saturday of each month from...
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Alvaro Melendrez

Melendrez pleads not guilty in Larkin Valley Road death

A Watsonville man pleaded not guilty in Santa Cruz Superior Court Wednesday to the slaying of 39-year-old Christopher Fagon. Alvaro Melendrez, 42, remains in County...