Local News

WATSONVILLE—Author Stephanie Sabatinelli was inspired to write her first children’s book, “The Spittle Spattle Bug,” by her aunt’s enthusiasm for science and the environment.  The book features a spittlebug, a type of hemipteran insect best known for sucking moisture out of plants and encasing themselves...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved the Safe Routes to Schools plan, a 472-page document that outlines numerous potential pedestrian and traffic safety projects at 15 Watsonville schools. Also known as the Complete Streets to School Planning Project,...

Punch another notch in your belt, and let’s continue this food truck tour of Watsonville.

WATSONVILLE —  For more than 30 years Nicholas Diaz spent long workdays buried in the back of televisions and other broken appliances. He was living his dream of being a neighborhood repairman. That dream came to a horrific close Sept. 1 when he died in a car...

WATSONVILLE—Students from Ann Soldo Elementary School have been displaying a series of art projects at Cafe Ella on East Lake Avenue since late November. Art teacher Cami Shaeffer said the idea formed after chatting with Cafe Ella owners Jennifer DeVault and Erika Conrad, who took...

WATSONVILLE—An effort to extend a landmark Watsonville ballot measure that placed restrictions on the expansion of the city took a big step forward Tuesday. The Watsonville City Council accepted the city clerk’s certification of a petition filed by the Committee for Planned Growth and Farmland...

Three teenagers were arrested near the Vista Point highway exit Friday for possessing a loaded, unregistered handgun.

WATSONVILLE—A crew from Watsonville Public Works is continuing a city-wide project to enhance the safety of crosswalks. The multiphase job has already completed numerous “high visibility” crosswalks at a number of downtown intersections on Rodriguez, Union and Brennan streets. Assistant Director of Public Works Maria...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez has been named Superintendent of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 10.  The region covers 42 school districts in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. “It is a pleasure and privilege to...

WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Police on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of multiple armed robberies when he crashed a stolen pickup after a police chase, and then barricaded himself in a nearby shed for several hours. Jordan Ramirez, 29, has been charged with robbery, assault with...