Local News

According to the California Strawberry Commission, about 90% of all strawberries in the U.S. are grown in California. The fruit thrives in the state, due to its need for year-round moderate weather, which allows its roots to grow strong and stable.  On the Central Coast, consistent...

WATSONVILLE—The National Association of Counties (NACo) recently renewed its call to have the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers change how it distributes its flood control funding. Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend, a NACo board member, says that, too often, funding decisions for federal flood...

WATSONVILLE—Roughly 60 people—many of them on bikes—gathered on the southwest outskirts of Watsonville on July 17 to celebrate the completion of the first phase of the city’s segment of the Coastal Rail Trail. The ribbon-cutting for the 12-foot wide, quarter-mile-long strip of asphalt between Walker...

WATSONVILLE—When new Pajaro Valley High School Principal Consuelo Mason was in third grade, her third-grade teacher inspired a lifelong dream to become an educator. “She showed me that anything was possible,” Mason said. By coincidence, when she had earned her teaching credential and entered a classroom...

With more people contracting Covid-19 locally and increased reports of the Delta variant, Monterey, Napa, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties in a joint statement Monday recommend that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places.  This includes places such as grocery...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) on July 14 held two virtual town halls, one in English and one in Spanish, to receive input from parents and the public regarding the use of $52.7 million from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER)...

HOLLISTER—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Daniel Dodge, Jr. last month was cited and released after being arrested on suspicion of stealing less than $300 worth of product from his employer in Hollister. Hollister Police Department Chief of Police Carlos Reynoso said officers were called...

WATSONVILLE—A new bakery that offers a dazzling and colorful line of pastries, cakes, fancy cookies, cupcakes and more has recently opened in downtown Watsonville. Ricarmi Panaderia y Pasteleria at 11 East Fifth St. is the realization of a longtime dream for Ricardo Lopez and Armida...

PRUNEDALE—A man died following a two-vehicle crash on Highway 101 at Prunedale South Road early on July 16. Cmdr. Derrel Simpson of the Monterey County Sheriff/Coroner’s Office identified Daniel Lewis Castaneda, 29, of San Jose as the victim. Simpson added that Castaneda was a correctional...

WATSONVILLE—A group of about 25 farmers, environmentalists and community leaders gathered at the Watsonville Nature Center on July 8 to officially kick off a campaign to renew a landmark Watsonville ballot measure passed in 2002. The Committee for Planned Growth and Farmland Protection recently filed...