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Watsonville
January 13, 2026

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...

Historic Mansion House vacant after New China Buffet closes

WATSONVILLE—The historic Mansion House in downtown Watsonville is searching for a new, hip tenant. The New China Buffet permanently closed its doors at the end of 2019 and the Tufo family is looking to fill the 3,800-square-foot space at 420 Main St. with a new...

Rancho Del Mar center continues to fill with shops

With final detail touches underway in the major overhaul of the Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center, several businesses are now open and others are on deck.

Watsonville Staff of Life set to open March 30

Watsonville staff of life
WATSONVILLE—Staff of Life grocery store has for a half-century been a backbone of healthy eating and living in Santa Cruz County, selling organic food and natural products long before those concepts hit the mainstream. Founders Richard Josephson and Gary Bascou launched the business as a...

New bill would provide $500M to agricultural fairs

CZU Complex fires animals
SACRAMENTO—Earlier this month, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), Representatives Billy Long (R-MO), Mike Levin (D-CA), and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced bipartisan legislation aiming to help preserve agricultural fairs across the country and offset the devastating financial losses they have experienced due to Covid-19. The Agricultural...

Gottschalks building renovation going to Planning Commission

Watsonville prep Gottschalks building
WATSONVILLE—A proposed redevelopment of the vacant Gottschalks building in the heart of downtown will come to the Watsonville Planning Commission during its Oct. 6 meeting. Navigator Schools, the parent organization of local charter school Watsonville Prep, and the Hansen Family Trust are teaming up to...

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...

New medical clinic goes skyward

watsonville medical clinic
WATSONVILLE—Construction is moving forward on a proposed dialysis clinic that would complement the nearby Watsonville Community Hospital. Being built by AGI General Contracting, the 11,424-square-foot outpatient ambulatory clinic is going up on a 1.15-acre lot at 58 Hanger Way and 5 Neilson St. directly adjacent...

City closes first period of cannabis applications

cannabis
WATSONVILLE—A total of 18 cannabis license applications, spanning across all fields of the industry, have been submitted to the City of Watsonville in time for its Oct. 15 deadline.  Community Development Department Director Suzi Merriam said that the process went smoothly, and the amount of...

PV Chamber awards scholarships

PV Chamber
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture recently announced the recipients of the 2020 Pajaro Valley Chamber Foundation Scholarship. Local high school students Antonio Hueso-Fernandez and Jessica Rodriguez-Reyes were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Hueso-Fernandez is a graduating senior at Aptos High School and will...
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County Supervisors approve draft BESS ordinance

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday moved forward with proposed rules aimed at regulating large-scale battery energy storage systems, which if...

Teen arrested after chase