Local News

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees late Wednesday agreed to not pay an attorney fee racked up by trustee Georgia Acosta during a meeting on Jan. 29. In making the decision, the board agreed that Acosta, who was then board president, went...

The Watsonville Buddhist Temple (WBT) is one of the Pajaro Valley’s oldest institutions, having served as a center for both religious worship and community service since 1906. Founded by immigrants who arrived in the Pajaro Valley toward the end of the 19th century, the temple...

CENTRAL COAST—Rain and hail gave the Central Coast a dash of badly needed precipitation over the past week—with a hint more rain set for this weekend—but officials are still warning of a critically dry year if rain clouds don’t rally before the start of...

WATSONVILLE—Monterey Bay Caterers, a long-standing business in the Pajaro Valley which operated as a catering business and a restaurant, is for sale. Owner Ken Schwan said a combination of things led to his decision. He’ll be 64 next month, and his recent motorcycle crash that...

WATSONVILLE—The special education program at Ohlone Elementary School is facing major changes next year after Pajaro Valley Unified School District shuffled teachers and services at the school. The school currently has three separate programs for its special ed students, the first of which is a...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday meeting overhauled its tax rates on cannabis businesses, a move the majority of council members said would make the city's businesses more competitive with those in neighboring jurisdictions. The changes will cut taxes on retail cannabis businesses in...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a four-part strategy to deal with the county’s homeless crisis, an ambitious three-year plan that has the goal of reducing by 50 percent the number of households experiencing homelessness by 2024. The...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley High football team has been conditioning for several weeks, gearing up for what will be the shortest season in the program’s history.  That season is in danger of becoming a week shorter after this Saturday’s game for the illustrious Belgard Kup against...

CORRALITOS—The 25-year-old woman who died Tuesday after an SUV struck her on the 4800 block of Freedom Boulevard has been identified as Stephanie Bell of Aptos, according to Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.  California Highway Patrol officer Alyssa Gutierrez said a...

Santa Cruz County is moving to the red tier of the state’s Covid-19 reopening plan starting Wednesday, as predicted last week.  That means several indoor business operations can reopen starting Wednesday, including indoor dining, aquariums, museums, dance studios, gyms and movie theaters, all of which have...