News

Watsonville city officials have ended a short-lived paid parking pilot along Aviation Way after pushback from local businesses, removing meters just days after the program launched. The 30-day pilot, which began earlier this week along the busy commercial strip at 45 Aviation Way, was intended...

Georgeann Cowles Eiskamp, a Watsonville native known for her volunteerism and steadfast dedication to her community, who successfully ran Cowles Berry Farm, and who helped shape the Down To Earth Women Luncheon as co-founder and the first board co-chair, died Sept. 22 of natural...

BOULDER CREEK — A man who refused to drop a machete when confronted by deputies, after reportedly breaking into a trailer in Boulder Creek, was arrested Tuesday. Santa Cruz County spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said deputies received a report of a man walking into a tent...

Aptos resident Laura Dover-Smith was walking on a trail in Watsonville’s sloughs on her lunch break one sunny Wednesday, an activity she tries to do daily. She says the walk affords her views of wildlife, but also gives her a peaceful respite from the bustling...

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday ended its policy of bringing drug-sniffing dogs into classrooms, a decision sparked when several people spoke against the practice during the twice-monthly meeting.

CAPITOLA—After California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis bought several slices from Pizza My Heart in Capitola’s storm-ravaged Esplanade on Wednesday for herself and the retinue of City, County and State officials accompanying her, she turned, slice in hand and quipped, “The only thing that would...

Artist Judy Gittelsohn fondly remembers her first experience at an artist’s retreat. Working for the company Golden Paints, she was able to go to a place where she could work without distractions or responsibilities. “It really nourished my development,” Gittelsohn said. “I did my best...

In the 34 years since it was created, Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes has served hot lunches to hundreds of people and provided food and household goods from its pantry. Roughly 10,000 people receive help every year. This includes holidays and during times of crisis,...

I started working for the Pajaronian in February 1997. As a news gatherer, that translates to a lot of blank pages being filled over the years with news and photos of what’s going on. Of those 23 years as a journalist, 2020 most assuredly...

In the early days of the AIDS crisis, a group of local leaders went to school officials to offer HIV prevention education. The response they got showed them how much that education—and of LGBT issues in general—were needed. “They said, ‘you don’t need to do HIV...