Local News

WATSONVILLE—The national debate over monuments of historic figures in public places has reached Watsonville.  A group of local activists has gathered more than 1,100 virtual signatures in support of removing the George Washington bust in the City Plaza. But not all Watsonville residents want the bust removed. On...

WATSONVILLE—Two Watsonville area charter schools received funds through the federal Payroll Protection Program (PPP), the $660 billion initiative created to use taxpayer dollars to help keep small business and nonprofit organizations afloat. Watsonville Prep School, which received more than $1.7 million, and Ceiba College Preparatory...

Searching for joy in the ongoing pandemic calls for a certain focus amidst the cascade of negative numbers such as death tolls, cases and recoveries.  Such is the case for Watsonville artist Sefla Joseph, who has had to reinvent her studio art classes and take...

CONDADO DE SANTA CRUZ—La Junta de Supervisores del Condado de Santa Cruz aprobó una ordenanza temporal que permitirá el condado emitir multas a las personas que violen las órdenes de salud, incluido no usar una cubierta facial donde sea necesario. El nuevo código del condado...

As people continue to follow federal, state and local shelter-in-place regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic, many have started looking for safe recreation in the great outdoors. In early June, Gov. Gavin Newsom released updated guidelines that allowed certain outdoor recreational facilities to reopen. This included...

By Abigail Acosta, Special to the Pajaronian WATSONVILLE—The owners of Corralitos Coffeehouse will be closing their doors in Corralitos on Aug. 22 and moving their operations to downtown Watsonville. Greg Bobeda and Lacey Dent will take over the location formerly occupied by Second Street Cafe between...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is searching for someone to take over the management of Pinto Lake City Park. The Parks and Recreation Department on Aug. 14 released a request for proposals (RFP) for the 8.5-acre lakeside park off Green Valley Road. The City is looking...

Note: Reporter Tony Nuñez contributed to this story WATSONVILLE—Thousands of Santa Cruz County residents living in the county’s northern reaches have been ordered to evacuate as the CZU August Lightning Complex fires have spread throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains. Temporary shelters have been set up across...

WATSONVILLE—Tens of thousands of residents have already been displaced due to the CZU August Lightning Complex fires—and those are just the humans. Wildlife experts are calling for people to be on the lookout for animals fleeing from the fires, which are currently 13% contained. As...

WATSONVILLE—For the past eight years, Nikki Lewen has been writing and releasing a trilogy of novels—all the while being a full-time teacher and coach at Watsonville High School. This year, all that hard work has paid off as Lewen celebrates not only the release of...