About Town

Tarmo Hannula: Heavy rain, laced with hail and strong gusts, whipped through the Pajaro Valley before noon Thursday. A friend called me to say he was in the middle of a heavy snow shower on Highway 17 near the summit. Thunderstorm activity could come...

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

Today is May 5 and an important day in Mexican history: Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that celebrates the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 during the Second Franco-Mexican War. Also known as Battle of Puebla...

Smoke is back. The Zogg Fire has burned through 87 square miles and is only 39% contained. The Glass Fire, at 92 square miles, is threatening 29,835 homes and has led to the mandatory evacuation of the entire town of Calistoga in the popular...

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

TARMO HANNULA A dead humpback whale washed ashore at Rio Del Mar State Beach Monday. California State Parks Ranger Joseph Carr Ritchie said the male humpback was about 13 years old. Researchers are looking into the cause of death while California State Parks is looking...

Tarmo Hannula: On Sunday there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Laundry Day Laundromat, 35 East Lake Ave. in Watsonville. The ceremony is from noon to 2 p.m. • Are you ready for a new cell tower embedded in a towering fake tree on...

TONY NUÑEZ: Community members again gathered at the George Washington bust in the Watsonville City Plaza on Friday. Some were calling for the statue to come down and others were saying it should stay up. People on both sides of the argument will get their...

Residents in Santa Cruz County now enter the third week of the shelter-in-place order from health officials launched on March 16 in response to the COVID-19 spread. Now those officials are shifting the initial two-week plan to remain in place until at least May...

Oct. 25, 2019 Tarmo Hannula: Twelve wildland fires are burning around the state, forcing widespread evacuations, destroying scores of homes and buildings, closing freeways and roads and sending herds of firefighter strike teams to out-of-county responses. In Sonoma County, 21,900 acres have burned in the...