Business

WATSONVILLE—Two Watsonville area charter schools received funds through the federal Payroll Protection Program (PPP), the $660 billion initiative created to use taxpayer dollars to help keep small business and nonprofit organizations afloat. Watsonville Prep School, which received more than $1.7 million, and Ceiba College Preparatory...

By Abigail Acosta, Special to the Pajaronian WATSONVILLE—The owners of Corralitos Coffeehouse will be closing their doors in Corralitos on Aug. 22 and moving their operations to downtown Watsonville. Greg Bobeda and Lacey Dent will take over the location formerly occupied by Second Street Cafe between...

WATSONVILLE—As many shelter-in-place restrictions remain in place due to Covid-19, state, county and city officials have looked for ways to allow businesses to open safely. This has included moving outdoors—onto sidewalks, into parking lots and even streets. Watsonville businesses have slowly been making the move,...

Business at California Pajarosa Floral, one of Watsonville’s last remaining large flower growers, has altered drastically since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year. Already dealing with an evolving industry before the pandemic due to growth in offshore production, things came to a sudden halt at...

WATSONVILLE — The new Hampton Inn & Suites on Lee Road is slated for an early March opening. Owner Juggy Tut said he is excited about the doors finally swinging open at the 112-room, four-story inn that has largely been constructed during the pandemic. “We’re looking...

WATSONVILLE—When Santa Cruz-based natural foods store Staff of Life opened its second location in Watsonville in March, employees from Sambrailo were pleased to see their products featured front and center. Fresh, organic vegetables and fruit in the store’s produce aisle were nestled inside Sambrailo’s sustainable...

WATSONVILLE—More than 100 people convened on Zoom on June 18 for the grand opening of a new center dedicated to women in business. The El Pájaro Community Development Corporation (El Pájaro CDC) has launched a Regional Women’s Business Center (RWBC) in Watsonville, with plans to...

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...

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a multistep strategy aimed at rapidly shifting Americans from gasoline-powered cars and trucks toward electric vehicles—a central part of his plan to reduce the pollution that is heating the planet. Biden is first restoring and slightly strengthening auto mileage...

Dozens of customers on April 6 were browsing the aisles of Harbor Freight, Watsonville’s newest hardware store.