Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office holds active shooter drills
For five days last week, Watsonville Police Department officers joined police, firefighters and medical professionals from around the county—and beyond—in active shooter training, running through policies and live scenarios at the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District tri-campus in Felton.
Sgt. Mish Radich, who headed...
Caput endorses Hernandez in supervisorial race
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Greg Caput announced Sept. 14 that he is endorsing Felipe Hernandez to succeed him in the November election.
Hernandez, a former Watsonville mayor and current Cabrillo College trustee, is facing current City Councilmember Jimmy Dutra in the race to fill the...
PVUSD continues school resource officer program
WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District will continue its school resource officer (SRO) program—which pairs a uniformed police officer with a mental health clinician at two comprehensive high schools—while asking Watsonville Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office to share the cost.
The Board...
Trees planted in downtown Watsonville
Members of Watsonville Wetlands Watch (WWW) joined forces with Watsonville Public Works, Studio Judy G and others Wednesday to plant new trees in downtown Watsonville.
The effort is part of the ongoing Watsonville Community Forest Project by the city to plant thousands of new trees...
Temporary CEO leading Fairgrounds
WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Fair Board President Don Dietrich has taken over as CEO in the wake of the Oct. 4 dismissal of Dave Kegebein, and says he’ll stay at the helm as the Board recruits a replacement.
It is unclear how long that could take,...
Surfers celebrate Juneteenth in Santa Cruz
About 150 people plunged into the Pacific Saturday at Cowell’s Beach for the third annual Liberation Paddle Out celebration of Juneteenth.
With the aid of around two dozen experienced surfers and other supporters, the crowd fitted themselves with wetsuits, took in a brief surf lesson...
Longtime political activist Glen Schaller dies
Glen Schaller, whose grassroots work touched nearly every aspect of local progressive politics for the past four decades in both the Central Coast and throughout California, who led campaigns for numerous elected leaders, and who joined the battle for LGBTQ+ equality long before it...
PVUSD Trustees deny assistant superintendent contract
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday narrowly rejected a contract for an assistant superintendent position to oversee the district’s 16 elementary schools.
The move sparked tension among board members who earlier in the evening approved a timeline and salary range...
PHOTO: SUV rolls into ag field on 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...
Newsom signs student housing bill
Plans to build 624 units of affordable student housing on Cabrillo College’s Aptos campus got the green light Monday when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to fund the project.
The dual Senate and Assembly bills, both numbered 142, will provide $111 million for the...
Letters to the Editor Dec. 12-26
Praise for Watsonville Fire Chief Lopez
In 1996, I took my New School students to the Watsonville Fire Department on Second Street for an educational...




















