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Watsonville
January 24, 2026

Thriving among the giants

Stephanie Siqueiros
APTOS—Sitting in the cab of a 25-ton Caterpillar excavator, Stephanie Siqueiros works the levers of the dinosaur-like beast to swivel the mechanical arm to reach across the pavement and attach a large scoop bucket. Nimbly, she attaches the bucket, its steel teeth facing skyward,...

New business to come to old Kmart building in Watsonville

kmart
A little more than two years after the former Kmart store on Freedom Boulevard closed its doors, the space will soon have a new tenant.  Vallarta Supermarket, which has more than 50 locations throughout California—the most recent one in Salinas—will occupy half of the 100,000-square-foot...

Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore moving to downtown Watsonville

Habitat For Humanity watsonville
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission at its Tuesday meeting unanimously approved an application from Habitat For Humanity to fill a vacant portion of a large building on the 500 block of Main Street.  Formerly home to a bounce house business, the 555 Main St. location adjacent...

EcoFarm bus tour rolling through Pajaro Valley

WATSONVILLE—Three organic Pajaro Valley farms will be featured in the 2020 EcoFarm Conference bus tour Wednesday—and a handful of seats are still available. Participants will visit Lakeside Organic Gardens, JSM Organics and Coastal Sun Cannabis/Moon Berry Farm during the tour, which kicks off the...

Around for 40 years

The Bagelry, situated in three locations in Santa Cruz County, has been a pillar in the restaurant world for the past 40 years. First established in 1977 on Seabright Avenue at Soquel Avenue, the sit-down/take-out eatery has continued to grow, not only wi

Covid-19 restrictions loosen as Santa Cruz County sees fewer cases

Watsonville coronavirus
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—California health officials on Tuesday moved Santa Cruz County into the less restrictive “Moderate” or Orange tier, meaning that several businesses can reopen and welcome in more customers. The move means that the county is seeing 1-3.9 new cases per 100,00 in population....

Applied Motion Products moving to Morgan Hill

Applied Motion Products
By Erik Chalhoub, Special to the Pajaronian MORGAN HILL—Citing a need for more space and to be closer to its Silicon Valley customers as its business grows, Watsonville-based Applied Motion Products broke ground on its Morgan Hill facility on Aug. 6. The facility, now under construction...

County will purchase West Marine building, consolidate Watsonville services

watsonville west marine
WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to purchase properties on Westridge Drive in Watsonville, and to relocate several county services there. The move, which will consolidate five separate departments into a building at 500 Westridge Drive, is expected...

Fish Lady swims to Capitola location

The new location at 700A Bay Avenue is adjacent to the Capitola Produce Market and near Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria.

Melee over food cart captures community attention

Linda Garcia hot dog
SANTA CRUZ—A recent clash between a Santa Cruz restaurant owner and a mobile hot dog vendor has drawn countywide attention, forcing one restaurant to close its doors and prompting demonstrations that have drawn hundreds of supporters. According to Santa Cruz Police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke, the...
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Letters to the Editor, Jan. 23–29

Passenger rail price estimates too high One can never convince  me that restoring the Santa Cruz Branch rail line for passenger rail would cost an...

Alliances in turmoil

Boys To Men