Young firefighter plans to return to Watsonville
While she can’t quite remember what sparked her interest, Arielle Bennet has known she wanted to be a firefighter since she was a small child.
Bennet, 18, has been a part of the Watsonville Fire Youth Academy since last year, and now serves as advisor...
Watsonville Strawberry Festival returns Aug. 4-6 to downtown
The community is gearing up for the Watsonville Strawberry Festival 2023, a beloved annual event that celebrates the region's rich agricultural heritage. This year’s festival promises to be a delightful extravaganza, with a special focus on showcasing local arts and crafts vendors, a Berry...
Briefs: East Beach Street work; handball tournament
​​Handball Tournament is this weekend
The Watsonville Handball Tournament will be held Saturday and Sunday at Emmett Court, 37 Sudden St., behind the PV Arts gallery.
Singles take place on Saturday, with doubles on Sunday. Matches start at 10am.
The grand prize is $900.
The player entry fee...
Daley hired as director of Meals on Wheels
Community Bridges hired Darren Daley to take over as program director for Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County when Lisa Berkowitz caps off her four-decade career with the program in August.
Daley earned his Master of Public Administration in International Management from the Middlebury...
PHOTO: Indoor blaze ignites at Las Lomas mushroom farm
Heavy smoke pours out of a mushroom farm in Las Lomas Tuesday at 4:15pm where indoor equipment caught fire. Jess Mendoza, Battalion Chief with North Monterey County, said firefighters got a quick handle on the blaze at 415 Hall Road. No injuries were reported...
Man found dead in vehicle in Aptos
Law enforcement officials are investigating a suspicious death after a man was found dead in a vehicle in Aptos early Tuesday morning.
According to California Highway Patrol Officer Israel Murillo, officers responded to the Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center parking lot on the corner of...
Major injuries reported in Riverside Drive crash
A man was seriously injured and a woman and two children suffered minor to moderate injuries in a two-vehicle crash Sunday on Riverside Drive.
Watsonville Police Officer Javier Ayala said the man was driving a Honda Civic south on Walker Street with a woman and...
Filmmaker, Watsonville native seeking hometown talent
Filmmaker and Watsonville High School alumnus Gabriel Medina already has several independent Hollywood-level movies on his resume, with various roles including writer, producer and director.
He recently earned his MFA from University of Southern California’s famed Peter Stark Producing Program, and has now returned to...
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office holds active shooter drills
For five days last week, Watsonville Police Department officers joined police, firefighters and medical professionals from around the county—and beyond—in active shooter training, running through policies and live scenarios at the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District tri-campus in Felton.
Sgt. Mish Radich, who headed...
Murals on the move: New artwork installed on City Hall building
A new phase of the ongoing Moveable Murals project, at the City Hall building, 250 Main St., went up on the exterior walls Tuesday.
Seven murals, ranging in size from 4-by-8-feet to 8-by-20-feet, were installed to showcase the artwork of Watsonville and Aptos High School...
Man arrested in levee death
Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies on Friday arrested a Pajaro man for the murder of Watsonville resident Jesús Alfonso Duarte Figueroa, whose body was found...