Local News

Eriberto Estrada went to his first Pajaro Valley Unified School District board meeting during his sophomore year at Pajaro Valley High School. He says he wanted to learn more about how the district operates and how the school board’s decisions affect students. Leaving that...

A new Watsonville businesses celebrated a milestone on Friday, and another is planning its own. Staff of Life grocery store is planning to ring in its five-year anniversary, and Angry Chickz restaurant opened its doors for the first time. Alejandro Rodriguez and his mother used...

Supporters of a proposed ballot measure to fund Santa Cruz County transit will hold a campaign kickoff event later this month as organizers ramp up signature gathering ahead of a qualification deadline. The Friends of Santa Cruz METRO initiative is scheduled to host the event...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District teachers often dread the week of March 15, the state’s deadline to issue layoff notices or “pink-slips” to workers across the district.  These notices are preliminary warnings, and don’t always guarantee an official termination of employment. But in past years,...

Watsonville High School juniors Michelle Sanchez and Brianna Barrera were selected for California Boys and Girls State by Edward H. Lorenson American Legion Post 121 of Watsonville. Commander Jose Medina, Adjutant Barbara Adamski and Historian Russell Gray chose the two students for their “Leadership...

Twenty short films by area students not only filled the big screen at Green Valley Cinemas Sunday afternoon. The program by the Watsonville Film Festival also filled the theater.  The 14th annual WFF is unfolding across the Central Coast March 12 -21, featuring award-winning films...

Road trips around California—including Sacramento, Atascadero, the desert, San Diego or north to Half Moon Bay and Fort Bragg—have time and again proven worthy of the fuel, hotel costs and drive time for me and my wife Sarah over the past several years.  Whether an...

Three years after winter floods surged through Pajaro, damaged homes and businesses and severely damaged Pajaro Park, a group of elected officials and community members gathered to celebrate the completion of renovations that included sites throughout the community. The County of Monterey and the Pajaro...

The nation’s oldest farmworker union announced Tuesday that it has canceled all events celebrating labor organizer César Chávez after allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted several women and girls. “As a women-led organization that exists to empower communities, the allegations about abusive behavior by César...

A former Watsonville hotel is set to be converted into a 120-bed residential treatment facility for men, significantly expanding substance use disorder treatment capacity in Santa Cruz County. Janus of Santa Cruz officially received the keys on March 9 to the former Rodeway Inn property...