Meeting highlights downsides of BESS facilities
More than 150 people gathered Feb. 28 at Pinto Lake City Park to share ideas and information about a proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) a few blocks away on Minto Road in Watsonville.
The public meeting, hosted by Stop Lithium BESS in Santa Cruz,...
Protest of teacher layoffs continue
Several dozen Pajaro Valley Unified School District teachers and staff were joined by community supporters early Tuesday morning at The Towers in Watsonville to rally against teacher layoffs that were approved on Dec. 11.
PVUSD administrators declined to comment.
School districts typically cannot comment about ongoing...
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...
Update: Man arrested for DUI in Ace Hardware crash
A man suspected of driving while intoxicated was arrested early Friday morning after he reportedly lost control of his pickup and slammed into the front of the Ace Hardware store in downtown Watsonville.
Caught on security video, the white Chevrolet truck is shown coming around...
Blaze destroys Habitat for Humanity truck
A late-night fire destroyed a truck at the Restore, a thrift shop in downtown Watsonville run by Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay.
Firefighters responded to reports of a vehicle fire at 555 Main St. at 11:15pm and found a Ford F550 pickup fully engulfed in...
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...
RTC looks to federal, state government to fill rail funding gap
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) will seek funding from the state and federal government to support construction planning for a passenger...
