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Watsonville
February 18, 2026

Hospital purchase ‘is going to happen’

Watsonville Hospital
WATSONVILLE—Through a series of contributions and donations, the Pajaro Valley Health Care District (PVHCD) has gathered together enough money to purchase Watsonville Community Hospital, ending months of nail-biting in which the fate of the 127-year-old institution hung in the balance. PVHCD will close escrow on...

Watsonville City Council hears from flood-stricken residents

jim avis watsonville city council meeting
WATSONVILLE—Tempers ran high Tuesday evening at the Watsonville City Council meeting where residents of three of the city’s senior residential communities voiced their accounts of having to deal with the floods at the start of the year and the ongoing fallout. After more than a...

Many bridges to Sacramento

Editor's note: This is part two of photojournalist Tarmo Hannula's recent trip to Sacramento. After exploring Grizzly Island Wildlife Area on the morning of the second day of our road trip to Sacramento recently, my wife, Sarah, and I steered toward a string of small...

Watsonville man pleads no contest in 2021 fatal crash

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A 48-year-old Watsonville man pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges he was intoxicated when he caused a crash in 2021 that killed another man, prosecutors said. Israel Cruz pled no contest to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving...

Suspected burglar nabbed by Watsonville Police

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Thanks to the help of an alert resident, officers on patrol arrested a man suspected of breaking into a local business. Dispatchers received a call from a community member reporting that a man was acting suspicious on the 300 block of Harvest Drive. As Watsonville Police...

A profile in public service: Lowell Hurst

By DREW ROGERS CONTRIBUTED TO THE PAJARONIAN Purely by happenstance after moving here in 2018, I met Lowell Hurst during his last month as Watsonville’s mayor (his third stint). Affable with a booming, cheery voice landing truth bombs and jokes equally, his Midwest openness and disdain...

Watsonville cements sister city status with Portuguese city

watsonville city council ari parker vaso cordeiro azores sister city velas
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville solidified its Sister City affiliation with Velas, a historic port town on the western coast of São Jorge Island in Portugal, at its Tuesday night City Council meeting. Watsonville Mayor Ari Parker and Vasco Cordeiro, the President of the European Committee...

Fire levels garage

WATSONVILLE – A fire broke out in a wood garage behind a home at 30 Riverside Drive Tuesday. Watsonville Fire Battalion Chief Kirt Vojvoda said no one was in the building when it caught fire and no injuries were reported. He said that once he...

Feds release preliminary results of plane crash investigation

watsonville municipal airport plane crash
WATSONVILLE—The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday released its preliminary results of its investigation into the crash last month at Watsonville Municipal Airport that killed three people. While not offering any fresh information, the report does give a detailed look at the crash, which occurred...
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LEVEE MONEY The Pajaro River meanders through a course of trees and brush near downtown Watsonville.

Padilla, Schiff secure $54M for Pajaro River Levee

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla announced Tuesday that he and Sen. Adam Schiff secured $54 million in federal funding for the Pajaro River Flood Risk...