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Filmmaker and Watsonville High School alumnus Gabriel Medina already has several independent Hollywood-level movies on his resume, with various roles including writer, producer and director.  He recently earned his MFA from University of Southern California’s famed Peter Stark Producing Program, and has now returned to...

WATSONVILLE—A new wood-fired pizza restaurant recently opened in the East Lake Village Shopping Center. Sandwiched between the Villager bar and Carmona’s BBQ and Catering, Uncie Ro’s is the latest addition to the busy center. “We’re just happy to be able to open our doors to...

WATSONVILLE—For nearly four decades, El Frijolito restaurant has been serving traditional Mexican fare in its sit-down dining room at 11 Alexander St. Now in its 38th year, the place is perhaps best known for its walk-up window on the 400 block of Union Street, which...

WATSONVILLE—A man has filed a civil lawsuit in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, claiming that 4th District Supervisorial candidate Jimmy Dutra molested him when he was 12. A case management conference is scheduled for Feb. 3. The Pajaronian typically does not name victims in stories involving...

Riverside Drive was closed to traffic and two homes were evacuated Wednesday afternoon between Union  Street and Marchant Street after construction crews ruptured a natural gas line. Watsonville Fire officials said the pipeline break was reported at 2:29pm in a section of the road that...

Watsonville native Richard Gurnee, who revolutionized the field of scientific taxidermy by pioneering a freeze-drying technique still employed worldwide, died in October after a brief illness. He was 87. Gurnee graduated from Watsonville High School in 1954, and then studied zoology at Humboldt State University. But...

For years, Santa Cruz County lacked a youth crisis center, meaning that young people experiencing a mental health crisis were taken to overloaded emergency rooms, the county’s adult psychiatric facility or were shifted to out-of-county facilities, away from their families. That problem will end in...

As high school seniors across the nation plan their adult lives, many are considering colleges and universities. Invariably, these questions are guided by a single factor: how to pay for it. While scholarships are an option, these are often competitive and come with a host...

A work crew hauls a large boring machine out of trench at Riverside Drive and Blackburn Street in Watsonville  Crews have finished the roadwork for the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project, which will provide a 30-inch water main to transport treated water from a...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday will consider ways in which the bandstand in the center of Watsonville Plaza could be renovated, and what to do with the antique cannons. Built in 1906 by architect William Weeks, the bandstand is both a part of Watsonville's...