Watsonville cracks down on food trucks as officials weigh changes to rules
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is cracking down on unpermitted food trucks and weighing whether to rework its rules regarding the mobile food vendors in the coming year.
The City Manager’s office has received numerous complaints about food trucks from several brick-and-mortar restaurant owners over the...
Five Star Catering offering holiday gift boxes
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s Five Star Catering is currently offering a curated gift box for the holidays.
The Holiday Local’s Box supports eight Santa Cruz County businesses that have been negatively affected by the pandemic.
Products include handmade Pecan Snowballs from Edith Meyer Wedding Cakes, fair trade organic...
Business Showcase returns to Aptos
Food, gadgets, cars, safety demonstrations and more will all be under one roof, and out in the parking lot, during the annual Business Showcase.
Hampton Inn opens in Watsonville
WATSONVILLE—A project seven years in the making, the 112-room Hampton Inn & Suites opened its doors Monday morning on Lee Road in Watsonville.
The four-story hotel flanks a new Starbucks coffee house and a newly opened Arco gas station and AM/PM mini market, all under...
Nonprofit helping the community help itself
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...
Local companies gift Second Harvest new parking lot
WATSONVILLE—Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County has been distributing almost twice as much food to local families than usual.
As such, the organization’s parking lot is now full of distribution and refrigeration trucks, forklifts and storage containers. Staff, volunteers...
Two cannabis dispensaries seek Watsonville Planning Commission’s OK
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission will review plans for two proposed cannabis dispensaries at its July 13 meeting.
Bryce Berryessa of Berryessa Holdings, LLC, and Jason Sweatt of Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance, Inc. are both expected to present to the commission at its monthly virtual meeting.
Berryessa...
Local paint company restores iconic Pajaro Valley buildings
They’ve painted over 1,000 houses in Watsonville. Now the Hernandez father and sons company are on a roll, tackling a massive paint job for one of the most prominent historical homes in Watsonville, the 1901 Porter-Pista home on the corner of East Beach and...
See’s Candies opens pop-up store in Watsonville
Peanut brittle, milk, dark and white chocolates, pecan buds, hazelnut truffles, butterscotch squares, chocolate walnut fudge—does this list have your attention?
If so, good news is here: See’s Candies has opened a pop-up store in Watsonville as a test run.
Situated in Watsonville Square, a few...
Powerful storms clobber Central Coast
A string of strong winter storms slammed the Central Coast over the past several days, toppling power and communication lines, knocking down scores of...




















