New giant mural celebrated in Pajaro
Community Bridges and Hijos del Sol, a Salinas-based community art group, were part of a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday in Pajaro to celebrate the completion of “Life Transforms/La vida se transforma,” a 160 by 25-foot outdoor mural created in partnership with Pajaro residents.
The mural took...
Students learn the power of the vote at Civics Summit
On Friday, about 150 high school juniors from across Santa Cruz County cast their first ballots on three issues that, if passed, would dramatically affect their lives.
Measure A would lower the statewide voting age to 16. Measure B would prohibit the redrawing of state...
Photo story: Symphony performance features local dancers
Members of Esperanza del Valle of the Pajaro Valley are joined Tuesday by performers from Vera Cruz, Mexico at the Mello Center Tuesday as part of the Santa Cruz Symphony's tour, The Orchestra Swings. With an auditorium packed with fourth and fifth graders from...
National leadership award lands in local hands
Gina Castañeda, who founded Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy, received this year’s Kim Crabbe Game Changers Award from the U.S. Soccer Federation.
She received the award in Atlanta, Georgia Saturday for creating Aztecas in 2008 and for being a driving force behind a wealth of local...
WPD Chief Brian Shab talks staffing, technology in policing
When Watsonville Police Chief Brian Shab took the helm of the department early this year, he saw a problem that is plaguing law enforcement agencies across the country: recruiting and retaining officers.
In a department authorized to employ 71 officers, the Watsonville Police Department has...
PVUSD teachers, staff stage layoff protest
After 30 people demanded that the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees rescind a Dec. 11 decision to lay off 80 teachers and 78 school employees during their Wednesday night meeting, nearly 200 people who had packed the Watsonville City Council chambers...
Order restored in Mexico, president says
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that order had been restored after a federal operation killed Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” the longtime leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, setting off retaliatory violence in several states.
At a news conference, Mexico Security Secretary...
Egg drop tests amateur engineers
Area youths tested their engineering skills Friday in downtown Watsonville at the 2026 Egg Drop Challenge.
The 23rd annual contest celebrates National Engineers Week, which aims to honor engineers as well as inspire future generations to join the field.
Groups from local schools, community programs and...
Panetta tells businesses he’ll fight offshore oil drilling
Since November, local business leaders have grown concerned about the impacts that offshore oil drilling may have on the region’s economy, after the Trump administration released a plan proposing two sites off California’s central coast.
In reaction, advocates of local industries that rely on a...
‘Catz storm back to win first-ever NorCal Championship | Boys soccer
The ‘Catz’s mystique is back, ladies and gentlemen.
The Watsonville High boys’ soccer team made history Saturday evening after winning their first-ever NorCal Championship in...
