—Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian

The folks at the Fairgrounds Foundation have teamed up with the Agricultural History Project this year to create the first-ever Holiday Lights Drive-Thru. The colorful, light-infused event is offered as an alternative to Christmas celebrations during the pandemic, where visitors won’t have to get out of their cars. Holiday Lights will run from Thanksgiving through Dec. 30.

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Watsonville Police officers Collin Travers, Saul Valadez, Juan Trujillo and Andrian Alvarez joined Robert Strong in a five-mile run Wednesday around Watsonville as part of the annual Law Enforcement Special Olympics Torch Run. Typically, the team of officers run from the Watsonville PD out to Corralitos where they pass the torch on to a group of CHP officers. They, in turn, help carry the torch across the county, handing it on to other law agencies to help raise funds to help create a new world of inclusion and community, where everyone is welcome, regardless of ability or disability. Their run ended in Watsonville Plaza. 

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Watsonville firefighters rolled up their sleeves in town today to help decorate the Marine Corps Toys for Tots headquarters. The event is designed to collect toys for needy children in the Pajaro Valley and has run each season for decades.

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I’ll be glad when all the votes are counted, all the campaign signs and ads come down and the election is put to sleep in restful and trusted hands. When I spoke with Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin on Election Day she said she had never seen anything like the turn out since her career started in 1993. It was exciting to be on the third floor of the County building in the same hallway of the Elections Office and to feel the wave of energy flowing through that place. There were scores of people voting right up to the last minute as well as a long line of cars, at times, at the drive-thru ballot box outside the building.

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Tarmo Hannula has been the lead photographer with The Pajaronian newspaper in Watsonville since 1997. More recently Good Times & Press Banner. He also reports on a wide range of topics, including police, fire, environment, schools, the arts and events. A fifth generation Californian, Tarmo was born in the Mother Lode of the Sierra (Columbia) and has lived in Santa Cruz County since the late 1970s. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and has traveled to 33 countries.

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