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Watsonville
January 10, 2026

El Pájaro celebrating 40 years of helping businesses

El Pájaro CDC this year is celebrating 40 years of transforming people’s lives through entrepreneurship by taking the confusion, guesswork and complexity out of starting small businesses. By offering technical, legal, financial and managerial assistance, El Pájaro CDC has helped launch and nurture small businesses while bolstering economic development within the community.

Nonprofit helping the community help itself

handwash stations aptos
APTOS—In her more than two decades of working with nonprofit organizations, C.J. Runyon spent eight years with Walu International, which among other things helps provide hand-washing stations to rural communities in Papua New Guinea and Nicaragua, where poor sanitation leads to a myriad of...

El Pájaro CDC partners with Staff of Life

staff of life watsonville
El Pájaro Community Development Corporation (El Pájaro CDC) has entered into a partnership with Staff of Life, a natural foods market that recently opened its new store in the East Lake Shopping Center. El Pájaro CDC, which aims to support small business entrepreneurs by...

Nonprofit gets national stage

Digital NEST earned national attention this month when it was named the featured charity for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, one of golf’s most watched events.

Hard cider business adapts to shelter-in-place

A single door was propped open, with a long table placed just inside of Santa Cruz Cider Company’s Apple City Tasting Room Monday afternoon.  A sign directed customers to the makeshift pickup window, which the owners have set up during the countywide shelter-in-place order. Natalie Henz,...

Event-based businesses struggle to stay afloat

Event-based businesses
WATSONVILLE—The Covid-19 pandemic has hit businesses hard, from the largest of companies to the smallest mom-and-pop shops. Rules continue to change as cases flatten and then spike, leaving business owners dealing with back-and-forth openings and closures. But for those who made their living off of...

Ritual Ride opening at The Hangar

WATSONVILLE—Since deciding to open their own business, Dave and Marissa Molinari have learned plenty of lessons. Chief among those lessons: stay positive and remain focused on your goals. “It will never go according to plan,” Dave said. “It’s important to learn and stay positive through the...

Pajaro Valley Public Cemetery District running out of space

Pajaro Valley cemetery
WATSONVILLE—Major work is underway at the Valley Public Cemetery to make way for hundreds of garden crypts. The move is part of the Pajaro Valley Public Cemetery District’s needed expansion to create more land for burials, said Bob Tanner, Pajaro Valley Public Cemetery District Board...

Delta Charter High School at Cabrillo College STUDENT SPOTLIGHT!

Michael Jaquias can often be found strumming guitar outside of Delta High School on the Cabrillo campus. He is the unofficial greeter for his peers in the Real World Linked Learning program where students earn their high school diploma while taking classes at Cabrillo and exploring careers. Since enrolling in the Real World last fall, Michael says he has found a school “family” where teacher, Maria Hastings, both supports and challenges her students. Delta Charter High School equips students with the skills necessary to graduate from high school, go on to higher education, and contribute positively to society. You can meet Michael and the other Real World students at an information night on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. on the Cabrillo Campus, building 1190. Give us a call at 477-5212 for more information or visit our website at deltaschool.org.

As business expo returns, locals share optimism for 2022

Pajaro valley Business Expo
WATSONVILLE—On April 7, businesses from across the region will come together for the first time in three years at the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture’s annual Business Expo and Job Fair. This year’s theme is “Spring Fling,” celebrating the return of not only...
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Teen arrested after chase

A routine traffic stop turned into a chase late Tuesday night that ended with the arrest of a 17-year-old suspected gang member and the...