Community

A 29-year-old Watsonville man died Thursday evening when he lost control of his motorcycle and smashed into a fence. California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murillo said officers responded to a report of a crash on Buena Vista Drive west of Bradford Road. The man, identified as...

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...

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...

Water fills the newly constructed sentiment drying beds on Holohan Road Wednesday as part of the College Lake Pipeline Project, which was designed to develop College Lake as a new water supply for the Pajaro Valley. Six miles of 30-inch water main will transport treated...

Photo by Tarmo Hannula of The Pajaronian - An early-morning fire tore through a home at 41 San Juan Road in Pajaro Wednesday. North Monterey County Fire Division Chief Jess Cortez said no-one was injured in the blaze at the corner of Gonda Street....

Elkhorn Slough, the vast natural area south of Watsonville that serves as a transition zone between land and sea and is home to myriad species of birds—as well as water and land animals—got a boost last week with a $6 million award. The money from...

As he drove under the new pedestrian and bicycle bridge spanning Highway 1 Wednesday, CalTrans structural engineer Jorge Uberhuaga pointed to the wooden framework he described as a “bridge to build a bridge.” After installing the rebar skeleton, workers will soon begin pouring cement that...

The Circus has come to town, this time at Ramsay Park on Main Street in Watsonville.  Circus Royal Spectacular—out of Las Vegas—rolled into town Tuesday, and crews quickly began driving giant tent stakes into the softball diamond  to set up their mammoth bigtop tent. Circus spokesperson...

California road trips to the desert, the State Capitol, the San Joaquin Valley, the Bay Area or the Sierra foothills have been turning up a  bounty of rewards for my wife, Sarah, and me.  This was proven on our recent drive from Watsonville to Sacramento...