Local News

Members of the community continued to push back against the introduction of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to Santa Cruz County at a community workshop on July 30.  The workshop—which more than 30 people attended–was held by the Santa Cruz County Commission on the Environment...

Thousands of people filled downtown Watsonville Saturday on day two of the three-day Strawberry Festival.  As the fog broke apart and blue sky took over, people were treated to live music, scads of strawberry-theme food and drinks, carnival rides, arts and crafts, an open-air beer...

Workers on Friday were installing 34 tiny homes that will be part of Recurso de Fuerza, a community meant to house homeless residents living on the Pajaro River Levee. The village in the parking lot of Westview Presbyterian Church at 118 1st St. in. Watsonville,...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s governing body on Wednesday took the first step toward allowing students to vote in district elections and help choose the trustees that represent them. The board voted to form an ad-hoc committee that will talk to students, families and community...

Watsonville’s Freedom Bakery—the oldest family-owned bakery in the Monterey Bay region—is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer, marking five decades of providing the community with cakes and other desserts.  The bakery was founded in 1975 by Tony Liu, a Taiwanese immigrant who came to the...

A team of 60 volunteers that included children, teens and adults took gardening implements in hand on July 24 to plant flowers at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in preparation for the upcoming county fair Sept.10-14. “Our fairgoers always appreciate the bright colors and atmosphere...

On Tuesday, as most of their peers were enjoying the waning remainder of their summer breaks, several groups of young people were sitting in classrooms, as math teachers and professors showed them the fundamentals and formulae of the math skills they will need in...

Officials from the National Weather Service have issued a tsunami warning after magnitude 8.7 earthquake occurred at 4:25pm 80 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka in Russia. The resulting tsunami is expected to hit California’s coastal regions at about midnight. According to the National Weather Service, a...

Martin Rubalcava came to the U.S. in 1979 from Mexico, and before he earned his citizenship constantly worried about getting rounded up by immigration officials.  “With the papers, I could begin to feel safe,” he said through a translator. “I could invest, help my kids...

Monterey County officials this week broke ground on a “tiny village” project that was delayed for months after neighbors raised concerns and twice appealed to the city of Watsonville. The 34 small dwellings were intended to give homeless residents living along the Pajaro River a...