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Watsonville
December 25, 2025

PHOTO: Highway 152 reopens after landslides block road

highway 152 reopen landslide
Motorists navigate a single lane section of Highway 152 (Hecker Pass) Monday. Officials opened the conduit between Watsonville and Gilroy to traffic in both directions following major landslides that closed the highway for more than a week. Drivers should be aware that there is...

PHOTO: Cultura Caliente Dance Showcase is May 6

cultura caliente dance showcase
Students prepare Tuesday in preparation for the for the 18th annual Cultura Caliente Dance Showcase May 6 at the Mello Center. Hosted by Watsonville High Dance, the event includes performances by Dance Center, Lakeview Middle School Folkloric Group, Cirque Tumble Cheer, Estrellas De Esperanza,...

Q&A: Valéria Miranda highlights new exhibit, Porter Building

Valeria val miranda
The community is invited to an opening reception for “Emergence” on June 4 from 2-4pm at Pajaro Valley Art’s (PVA) Sudden Street Gallery. This multimedia exhibit celebrates artists emerging onto the art scene, exploring new media, presenting new bodies of work, and/or completing higher...

PHOTO: Traditional steps in downtown Watsonville

la rama watsonville plaza Estrellas de Esperanza
Musicians, dancers and the public take part in a Mexican holiday tradition called La Rama Friday night in Watsonville Plaza. The first-ever such event in Watsonville was hosted by students in the dance class, Estrellas de Esperanza, taught by Ruby Vasquez. The purpose of...

Santa Cruz County Fair efforts blooming

Santa Cruz County fairgrounds flower planting
Every year, as the fleeting summer days pass, staff and volunteers at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds prepare for the coming fair, which is at once a community celebration of the region’s agricultural bounty and an embrace of autumn. The first step in the Herculean...

Widespread pesticide use a civil rights violation, tribunal says

Tarmo Hannula contributed to this story. Over the decades, California lawmakers, district attorneys, county agricultural commissioners and others tasked with protecting residents have neglected to do so for farmworkers and their families, who are disproportionately affected by dangerous agricultural chemicals. This amounts to years of civil...

Crowds demand Santa Cruz County elected leaders issue ceasefire resolutions

watsonville city council chambers israel gaza
Hundreds of people packed city and county meeting chambers throughout the day on Tuesday to ask local elected leaders to pass resolutions demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict. The action resulted in the Santa Cruz City Council creating a special meeting to discuss...

24-hour Highway 1 closure coming March 23

Caltrans is scheduled to close both directions of Highway 1 for a 24-hour block on March 23/24 to make way for the demolition of the 1948 Capitola Ave. overcrossing.  Kevin Drabinski, spokesperson for Caltrans, said the work is the second phase of the three-phase project...

Man’s quest for freedom denied, for now

SANTA CRUZ—A man hoping a new set of California laws would ease his lengthy prison sentence will have to wait a while longer while his case is appealed. Vincent Marquez, now 65, was in court on Aug. 26 for his resentencing hearing. He is one...

PVUSD: Strong voter support for possible bond

pvusd trustees
Pajaro Valley Unified School District would likely have enough voter support for a $315 million bond if it went on the November 2024 ballot. That was the message to the Board of Trustees Wednesday from Dale Scott, whose eponymous consultancy company conducted a straw poll...
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PV’s Lara-Alvarez named Santa Lucia’s top player | All-PCAL football

In 2024, Pajaro Valley senior Benito Lara-Alvarez was primarily on the defensive side of the ball for the Grizzlies. Prior to the start of this...

ICE becomes an autocratic tool