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Watsonville
February 17, 2026

Michelle Rodriguez leaving PVUSD

Michelle Rodriguez PVUSD
Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez will be leaving the school district, after taking the same position with Stockton Unified School District. Rodriguez made the announcement June 2. Her last day will be June 30. “To the remarkable Pajaro Valley community that has embraced...

Fiesta Mexicana features film, dance and musical performances

Watsonville Film Festival is partnering with Cabrillo College’s “Hispanic Serving Institution Week” to celebrate Mexican Independence Day at the Watsonville Plaza on Friday from 5-7:30pm.  This free family event will feature live music by Mariachi Juvenil Corazón Jaliscience from Hollister and Laura Rebolloso, a singer,...

WPD officer dies following 29-year career

Watsonville police officer Kraig Kliewer
Retired Watsonville Police Officer Kraig Kliewer, who retired in July following a 29-year career, died Tuesday. “It is with a heavy heart that we inform you about the passing of retired Watsonville Police Officer Kraig Kliewer,” said Michelle Pulido, spokeswoman for WPD. “He passed away...

Update on homelessness shows mixed results from county efforts

Santa Cruz County Housing for Health
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County has reduced homelessness among families by 59% compared to 2019, even as overall homelessness in the county increased by 6%.  That’s according to preliminary results of the county’s biannual Point-In-Time (PIT) count released Aug. 5 by the Housing for Health...

Elkhorn Slough, other natural areas, receive $71M grant for climate resilience

Elkhorn Slough, the vast natural area south of Watsonville that serves as a transition zone between land and sea and is home to myriad species of birds—as well as water and land animals—got a boost last week with a $6 million award. The money from...

Officials hope to expedite plans to repair Pajaro levee

pajaro flooded agricultural field levee
PAJARO—Work crews have temporarily plugged a breach in the Pajaro River levee that allowed torrents of water to flood the tiny town of Pajaro and surrounding farmland on March 11, and officials in Monterey County are now banking on a law that allows the...

Flooding shuts down streets in Watsonville

east lake avenue flooding road closure
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville officials issued expanded evacuation warnings late Thursday night as floodwaters have shut down numerous streets in the city. The expanded evacuation warnings include E. Front and White streets south of Riverside Drive, and near the intersection of Green Valley and Holohan roads. The City of...

PV Water calls for bids to construct College Lake project

watsonville smell
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency Board of Directors authorized staff to advertise for bids to construct the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project.  PVWMA officials say the project will provide much-needed water to the critically overdrafted basin of the Pajaro Valley by supplying 1,800...

Watsonville Hospital begins operations under new owner

watsonville community hospital
WATSONVILLE—Thursday marked the end of an era—and the beginning of a new one—as Watsonville Community Hospital officially became a public entity, to be controlled by a local board of elected representatives. The purchase followed a months-long fundraising campaign—the largest in Santa Cruz County history—that netted...

PHOTO: Freedom Boulevard down to two lanes

freedom boulevard road work
Traffic is channeled into one lane in each direction in what once was both southbound lanes of Freedom Boulevard Thursday as major improvement work continues. Joshua Nol of McKim Corporation said all traffic has been shifted to the west side of the road, while...
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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...