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Watsonville
October 28, 2025

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...

Salvation Army shutters its shelter

On Saturday morning, 48-year-old Gerardo Gutierrez was one of about a dozen men sitting in the day room at Salvation Army’s Watsonville location, quietly watching an old Vicente Fernández film playing silently on a television mounted to the ceiling. The men—most of them homeless—had stayed...

Volunteers fill a mountain of backpacks during Stuff the Bus event

stuff the bus
Tommy Moffitt of Santa Cruz was proud of himself Saturday morning, a big smile on his face as he carried six backpacks—one on his back, one on his front and two each on his outstretched arms—through Kaiser Permanente Arena to be filled with school...

PHOTO: Car stop reveals handgun in Watsonville

car stop watsonville ohlone parkway
Watsonville Police ready their guns during a high-risk car stop Wednesday on Main Street near Ohlone Parkway. Police initially got a tip that two males aboard a white Nissan sedan were handing a handgun back and forth between them, Michelle Pulido, spokeswoman for WPD...

PVUSD Board appoints Scow to fill vacated seat

pajaro valley unified school district board of trustees adam scow
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Saturday unanimously appointed Adam Scow to fill the seat vacated when former member Maria Orozco was elected to the Watsonville City Council. “Now the work begins,” Scow said after the vote. “I know it’s going...

PHOTO: SUV rolls into ag field on Holohan Road

suv rollover holohan road
The California Highway Patrol investigates a solo-vehicle crash on Holohan Road Saturday. Sgt. Atty said the male driver of a Nissan Murano SUV was traveling south at an "unsafe speed" when he lost control around 2:50pm. The Watsonville man, in his early 20s, careened...

Markets prep for Thanksgiving orders

freedom meat lockers sarah lewis jeff bassmann
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—As Thanksgiving edges closer, the folks at Corralitos Market & Sausage Co. and Freedom Meat Lockers say now is the time to get orders dialed in. “I’ve been at this since April, getting ready and dealing with supply, price changes and everything else,”...

Santa Cruz County scores money for hydrogen busses, affordable housing projects

California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin santa cruz METRO bus
Countywide efforts to bolster environmentally-friendly bus service and build low-income housing were given a boost Monday, with the announcement of a $38.6 million award from the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). The money will allow Santa Cruz METRO to purchase 24 zero-emission, hydrogen-powered buses, including...

Body found along Pajaro River levee

pajaro levee river bridge watsonville police
Watsonville Police set up on the bridge between Watsonville and Pajaro Monday night where they investigated a body found beneath the bridge. Michelle Pulido, spokeswoman for Watsonville Police, said police found a deceased man, age 25-30, sometime after 8pm. No further information has been...

Man shot, killed in Pajaro River bed

pajaro river watsonville police homicide investigation
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police are investigating a fatal shooting in the Pajaro riverbed. Ashley Keehn, spokeswoman for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, said the victim has been identified as John Michael Peña, 41. Michelle Pulido, spokeswoman for Watsonville Police, said detectives were called to the scene of...
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Missing 12-year-olds found safe

The 12-year-old girl who took her mother’s car and went on the run Saturday—and her 12-year-old boyfriend who joined her—have both been found In...