Community briefs: Drag show fundraiser, history talk this week
Fruition Brewing to host drag show fundraiser
Pajaro Valley Pride (PVP), a local organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating South County’s LGBTQ+ community, will host a drag show fundraiser Saturday at Fruition Brewing in Watsonville.
“aQUEERious Winter Ball!” will feature a number of performers and a...
Sheriff’s Office asking for help in solving 1995 Watsonville murder
WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is reaching out to the community for help in solving a 1995 homicide in Watsonville.
Investigators say that Gloria Hassemer’s body was found along the Pajaro River Levee near the Highway 1 overcrossing on June 10, 1995. Hassemer, 41,...
Q&A: Watsonville Taiko sensei describes Obon
The community is invited to the Obon Festival at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple (423 Bridge St.) Sunday, July 16 from noon to 5pm. Watsonville Taiko will perform at 3pm. The event is free and open to the public.
We spoke with Ikuyo Conant, Sensei and...
Family searches for answers after 18-year-old farmworker is gunned down
WATSONVILLE—About 15 people sat quietly in rows of chairs facing an altar of votive candles, flowers, photographs and memorabilia in a carport near downtown Watsonville on Sunday.
Just hours prior, an 18-year-old man who, family says, had moved to the U.S. from Oaxaca, Mexico a...
Michael’s on Main destroyed by fire
SOQUEL—An early morning fire on Sept. 1 tore through a section of the popular Soquel restaurant, Michael's on Main.
Fire Marshal Mike DeMars of Central Fire said the flames broke out around 4:30am and caused heavy damage to part of the restaurant, including a prep...
PHOTO: Ag History Project celebrates harvest
The 33rd annual Harvest Dinner, which is one of the Agricultural History Project's main fundraisers, featured a dinner prepared by Monterey Bay Caterers and a live and silent auction.
County prepares to vote under extraordinary circumstances
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—With the presidential election day just two months away, Santa Cruz County elections officials are preparing to conduct an election beset by twin calamities—fires that have ravaged the county and displaced thousands and the Covid-19 pandemic.
County Clerk Gail Pellerin says that two...
State Supreme Court validates juvenile justice law
SANTA CRUZ—The California Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a 2018 law prohibiting anyone 14 or 15 years old from being tried as adults is constitutional.
The ruling on Senate Bill 1391 means that Adrian “AJ” Gonzalez, who is accused of kidnapping, torturing, raping and...
PVUSD to slash elementary assistant principals
When the 2026-27 school year begins in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, all 17 elementary schools will be without assistant principals.
The positions, also...
