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WATSONVILLE—With two seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District up for election, the makeup of the board could see a shift as political newcomers Natalain Schwartz and Olivia Flores challenge incumbents Kim De Serpa and Jennifer Schacher, respectively. Two seats—occupied by Daniel Dodge Jr....

NOTE: Reporters Todd Guild, Johanna Miller, Tarmo Hannula and Erik Chalhoub contributed to this article. For more than two years, people have clamored for the return to “normal” after the uncertainties of a pandemic. In 2022, we got a taste of normalcy, but it was far...

PAJARO—Community Foundations in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties have teamed up to distribute funding to nonprofits that are aiding flood recovery efforts in Pajaro. The Community Foundation for Monterey County and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County each activated funds to support storm and flood relief...

WATSONVILLE—More than 40 school bus drivers who conducted a “sick-out” on Oct. 21 and 24 are back at work, and Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez has called the action “unlawful,” saying it violated the recent CSEA Collective Bargaining Agreement. “We deeply regret...

WATSONVILLE—A woman survived a solo-plane crash at Watsonville Municipal Airport Sunday afternoon after reportedly smashing into power lines and a utility pole upon approach to the runway just before 3pm. Cal Fire Capt. Bryan Whitaker said the pilot appeared to have suffered minor to moderate...

Crews from the Watsonville Public Works Department are starting up two large projects that will affect motor and foot traffic. On Monday, the Water Service crew began to replace a water main in the southbound lanes of South Green Valley Road between Main Street and...

APTOS—A man was arrested Thursday in the Safeway parking lot in Aptos after he allegedly provided illegal drugs to a minor. When Special Enforcement Detectives with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office contacted Benjamin Reynolds, he was in possession of numerous baggies of cocaine, marijuana,...

A tow truck operator from Auto Care Towing prepares to haul a Honda Accord away after the driver crashed through a utility pole (left) on the 2100 block of Freedom Boulevard Tuesday morning. Watsonville Police traffic officer Corey Johnston said a male driver of...

WATSONVILLE—Empower Watsonville, a youth leadership group that aims to amplify young voices in local government, hosted its annual conference at the Gene Hoularis and Waldo Rodriguez Youth Center on Dec. 2. Empower Watsonville is a health policy program of Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved a change to district policy that will add several holidays to the calendar, during which events will not be scheduled, whenever possible. This includes exams, sporting events, assemblies, field trips and back-to-school...