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Watsonville
November 2, 2025

Cabrillo scholarship created in memory of plane crash victim

APTOS–The family of Stuart Camenson, who died in a plane collision at Watsonville Municipal Airport on Aug. 18, has created a permanent endowed scholarship for Cabrillo College students in his honor. The Stuart Camenson Memorial Endowed Scholarship aims to support those studying within Cabrillo’s Visual...

Watsonville’s urban growth limit extension leads countermeasure

measure u watsonville
More Watsonville voters have elected to extend the city’s urban growth boundaries for the next 18 years rather than head back to the drawing board and determine a new growth plan, according to initial election results released Tuesday night. As of 8:16pm, 1,788 votes had...

Caltrans proposes ‘bold’ $25M reimagining of Watsonville’s Main Street

WATSONVILLE—The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the City of Watsonville are on the cusp of beginning a 10-year endeavor that will completely reshape the city’s major arterial road. Caltrans has committed to a $25 million renovation of its roughly seven-mile thoroughfare of Highway 152...

Cabrillo leaders to decide on renaming college

cabrillo college
APTOS—On Nov. 14, the Cabrillo College Governing Board will meet to answer a question that has been vexing Santa Cruz County for two years: should the name of its community college be changed? The effort to possibly change Cabrillo College’s name began in 2020, as...

Leaders celebrate Pajaro River Levee funding

pajaro river levee mark strudley alex padilla luis alejo zoe lofgren jimmy panetta
WATSONVILLE—Within the next two or three years, crews will begin work on rebuilding the Pajaro River Levee, giving 100-year flood protection to residents beset by years of devastating floods, and putting an end to a chapter in a South County story most would agree...

Holiday Lights returns to Fairgrounds Nov. 25

WATSONVILLE—Work is underway at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in preparation for the annual Holiday Lights drive-thru light show. Born out of the 2020 Covid lockdowns as a way for the community to celebrate the season safely, the event invites families to drive though colorful...

Seacliff State Beach altered ‘significantly’

seacliff state beach chris spohrer zach friend dawn addis jimmy panetta john laird
SEACLIFF—The tidal surge that ravaged Seacliff State Beach on Jan. 5 destroyed much of the park’s protective sea wall, all but destroyed the campground and ravaged the pier so severely that the entire structure is “actively failing” and likely beyond repair. That was the message...

Pain And Progress In Pajaro

Tarmo Hannula and Todd Guild contributed to this story Jerry Castro has lived in the same house on Cayetano Street in Pajaro all his life. His parents owned it before him, he then bought it off of them. His children and their children were also...

Santa Cruz otter captures national attention

sea otter santa cruz
A sea otter at Cowell’s Beach on the westside of Santa Cruz has garnered headlines around the country for its "unusual behavior," as described by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The otter, identified as Otter 841 by a tag on its flipper, has recently...

Police: Santa Cruz High shooting threat is false

santa cruz high school shooting threat hoax
SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz Police and school officials believe that a threat of a shooting at Santa Cruz High School is false, and there have been no reports of anyone injured. SCPD Chief Bernie Escalante said at an early Wednesday afternoon press conference that a call...
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Music in the Plaza

Calles Libres returns to Watsonville after a 7-year hiatus

The public is invited to the Calles Libres (Free Streets) community celebration on the streets of downtown for a car-free festival honoring Día de...