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Watsonville
February 18, 2026

PHOTO: Filipino American History Month

Filipino American History Month festival tobera project watsonville plaza
Gerald Santos and his son, Kevin, demonstrate a Filipino style of Martial Arts, known as Arnis, Saturday in Watsonville Plaza during the Filipino American History Month festival put on by the Tobera Project. The second annual, five-hour event included live music, traditional foods, poetry...

Store hands out 8,200 pounds of chicken to Second Harvest

second harvest food bank staff of life smart chicken
WATSONVILLE—Second Harvest Food Bank’s efforts to aid Pajaro flood victims received a boost Wednesday when Staff of Life Natural Foods and Smart Chicken donated more than four tons of chicken.  With the Smart Giving Program, Staff of Life Natural Foods and Smart Chicken donated over...

Group sparks conversation about Valley’s pesticide use

A newly formed community group with the vision of reducing the use of pesticides in the Pajaro Valley is taking on international berry giant Driscoll’s. The Campaign for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture (CORA) recently sent a letter to Driscoll’s CEO Miles Reiter calling for the...

Q&A: Cristal González Avila speaks about her artistic inspirations

Cristal González Avila
Youth in grades 3 through 8 are invited to a five-day workshop entitled “The Mask We Wear & the Stories We Tell.” Facilitated by Cristal González Avila, it runs June 27 through July 1 at the Watsonville Center for the Arts. This hands-on workshop...

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds hires new manager after months-long search

Zeke Fraser santa cruz county fairgrounds
Zeke Fraser was hired as the new manager of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, the board of directors announced Tuesday, capping off a search that began when former manager Dave Kegebein was fired in October. Fraser, a resident of Santa Cruz for nearly 30 years,...

Man shot by police faces murder charges

The man who was shot when he reportedly charged at an officer with a knife after threatening to kill his 3-year-old stepdaughter has been released from the hospital, and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail without bail. Joshua Gonzalez, 25, now faces murder charges for...

Community Bridges celebrates new downtown mural

Dozens of people gathered in downtown Watsonville Friday afternoon to celebrate the completion of a new large outdoor mural at Community Bridges at the corner of Main Street and West Lake Avenue. Titled “Wisdom of Our Elders,” the colorful 225-foot-by-32-foot mural represents a collaboration between...

Big rig tears off hydrant, geyser erupts in downtown Watsonville

west beach street geyser fire hydrant
A powerful geyser of water blasted into the sky at Main and West Beach streets for more than five hours Monday after a big rig knocked over a fire hydrant just past 10am. The stream of water gushing from the ground was so strong that...

Santa Cruz County Health Officer announces retirement

gail newel
Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Thursday announced that she will be retiring in June. Newel was appointed to the position in July 2019. During that time, she led the county through the Covid pandemic, considered to be the largest public health crisis in...

Community speaks out on pesticide plan

dpr talk ramsay park
Members of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation presented a plan Monday that aims to strengthen the way the state regulates agricultural pesticides. The seven-page Draft Strategic Plan 2024-28 was presented in Watsonville to a crowd of about 50 people at the Ramsay Park Family...
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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...