Watsonville’s Crystal Bay Farm opens annual pumpkin patch
For more than 20 years, Crystal Bay Farm owners Lori and Jeff Fiorovich have offered the Pajaro Valley community a homegrown harvest tradition.
Every October, the couple transforms their farm into a family-friendly pumpkin patch, where people can come and pick out the perfect pumpkin,...
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.
Entrepreneur takes gamble on new career
The Hiccuping Dragon is a small hot dog stand nestled in Rio Del Mar Esplanade. With a beachside real estate, ocean views and a steady crowd of hungry beachgoers, Hammond couldn’t have picked a better spot for his four-month-old stand.
Local grower on cutting edge of organic farming
WATSONVILLE—About 200 people disembarked three large charter buses on Green Valley Road in Watsonville early Wednesday morning as part of the EcoFarm Bus Tour, a kickoff to the EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove this week.
The tour was visiting Strong Agronomy, a management company that...
New business to come to old Kmart building in Watsonville
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...
Martinelli’s among brands searching for safer bottle cap options
WATSONVILLE—When the nonprofit Defend Our Health tested bottle caps from 141 beverage brands, they found potentially harmful chemicals in more than a third of them. Two Martinelli’s products were among these brands, but the Watsonville-based apple juice and cider company says it is now...
John Bargetto launches new venture at Corralitos’ Regan Vineyards
For the past 30 years, Bargetto Winery, one of California’s oldest wineries, has grown grapes at Regan Estate Vineyards, a plot in Corralitos overlooking the Pajaro Valley.
With 40 of the property’s 53 acres planted, Regan is one of the largest and most diverse of...
Groundwork moves ahead for new warehouse
Work continues on the new massive beer and restaurant supply warehouse just off of Highway 1 (between Riverside Drive and Green Valley Road) on the Manabe-Ow property in Watsonville.
Approved by the Watsonville City Council in March, the 155,847-square-foot, two-story industrial warehouse is still in...
Photo story: preparing to shine with Noche de Brillo
Jeremy Sanders (right) and Aurora Torres construct a portable igloo that will be used for an arts and crafts stand at the upcoming Noche...



















