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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...

With two days left before the opening of the 2024 fair, these workers scramble to set up their popular barbecue stand at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Monday. The fair kicks off Wednesday at noon. For information, visit santacruzcountyfair.com/

On Tuesday afternoon, Jana Tenant was in her backyard in the Bay Village senior community of Watsonville, a place she calls her “sanctuary.” But on this day—like many others recently—that sanctum was beset by construction noise. The rhythmic pounding from Bridge Street is from the ongoing...

A Christmas tree is dressed up with a Victorian-era dress at the Pajaro Valley Historical Association. A wealth of early day garb is part of the PVHA's exhibit where visitors are welcome to stop by and get a taste of earlier times in the...

The Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board of Directors on Dec. 21 approved a three-year contract with its nurses, two weeks after the nurses’ union ratified it. The approval came after six months of bargaining. Nurses say the contract helps improve patient safety by increasing...

Former Watsonville Fire Capt. Ron Rackley serves up homemade chili to Linda Hicks at the opening day barbecue lunch where huge crowds are filing through the 2024 fair. Dozens of fair food options will be offered through Sunday, with the stand kettlecorn, corn dogs,...

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously appointed Justin Cummmings as this year’s board chair, and Felipe Hernandez as vice chair. While the chair role is largely ceremonial, the supervisor in that position leads the meetings and often serves as the spokesperson for the...

A fire at Bamboo Giant on Freedom Boulevard early Tuesday afternoon damaged a structure, spread into the neighboring field and closed the road in both directions. According to CalFire spokesman Tony Akin, the blaze broke out just past noon. Firefighters were met with towering flames...

After decades of floods that devastated the communities of Pajaro and Watsonville—and flooded hundreds of acres of farmland—a group of local, state and federal lawmakers gathered near the banks of Corralitos Creek Wednesday to break ground on the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project,...

Watsonville Fire Battalion Chief Almita Schaefer tells students at Moreland Notre Dame School about the risks and rewards of being a firefighter Wednesday on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Students and staff at the campus each year have welcomed law...