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Watsonville
February 22, 2026

Customers, businesses contend with escalating meat prices

Labor Day Weekend is fast approaching, and many are looking to stock up on foods for barbecues and other outdoor gatherings. But this year is different, for both consumers and suppliers alike, and it has a lot to do with the current high price of...

Watsonville cracks down on food trucks as officials weigh changes to rules

Watsonville food trucks
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...

Ex-Driscoll’s exec sentenced to 2 years in prison for embezzlement

SAN JOSE—A former executive at an international Watsonville berry giant was sentenced Thursday to more than two years in federal prison for embezzlement, United States Attorney David Anderson announced. Marc Marier, 42, was sentenced to 29 months in prison and ordered to pay more than...

Iconic Santa Cruz florist expands into East Lake Village

Ferrari Florist Brian Marilyn Piazza
WATSONVILLE—On Dec. 1, the East Lake Shopping Center in Watsonville welcomed its newest addition. Ferrari Florist, located at 928 East Lake Ave., is now the third store for the 74-year-old business in Santa Cruz County.  Five years ago, Brian and Marilyn Piazza noticed that a...

Sears to close Capitola location

Sears Holdings announced this week that it will close dozens of stores throughout the U.S., including the location in the Capitola Mall.

Orchard offers u-pick roses, outdoor fun

There is now a new way to assemble your own bouquet of roses, thanks to a pick-your-own rose venue at Birdsong Orchards in Watsonville. Owner Nadine Schaeffer said she is growing dozens of varieties of roses on her 8-acre parcel where she also tends to...

Charter schools reap millions from public payroll program

paycheck protection program watsonville
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...

Rolling Hills garden comes to life

WATSONVILLE—A long-neglected garden at Rolling Hills Middle School was brought back to life Thursday thanks to the volunteer efforts of the Watsonville company K&D Landscaping.  Armed with a host of tools and dozens of starter plants, the crew tore into the hard-packed soil as part...

Food service industry faces unprecedented labor shortage

Two weeks ago, Amelia Loftus, owner of Hidden Fortress Coffee Roasting, was on the brink of closing her cafe in Watsonville just shy of its five-year anniversary. The shop, located at the end of a sleepy business complex on Hangar Way, had been struggling to...
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Late heroics help ‘Catz boys squad edge Independence | CCS basketball...

Ahmi Martin has been the main ball distributor as a point guard for the Watsonville High boys’ basketball team throughout the 2025-26 winter season. The...