Local News

WATSONVILLE—Work is now complete on a pedestrian, bike and traffic safety project on Harkins Slough Road.  The job, which is part of a city-wide project to address transportation safety issues, runs between South Green Valley Road and Ford Street and includes a swath of Walker...

APTOS—The family of the Aptos High School student who died last year after he was stabbed during an on-campus attack has sued Pajaro Valley Unified School District, claiming that the district failed in its duty to protect its students. The lawsuit, filed July 7 by...

WATSONVILLE—When Watsonville voters head to the polls in November they will choose between two critical ballot measures concerning the future of the city. Should they extend outward growth restrictions determined 20 years ago through 2040, or determine a new, 30-year growth plan for the city...

SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County’s new Public Defender office began operations on July 1, and the department’s roughly 60 employees celebrated the occasion with a barbecue in the backyard of its May Avenue headquarters.  The new office includes an increased number of attorneys, in addition to...

WATSONVILLE—New Watsonville City Manager Rene Mendez stepped into the leadership role on July 1.  Just three days later he was driving Watsonville City Councilman Jimmy Dutra through the Spirit of Watsonville Fourth of July Parade in a Chevrolet Corvette, and, in the time before and...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley High School Athletic Director Joe Manfre made a sad discovery last week when he found that an important school van had been stolen. The missing van is used to transport athletes to sporting events throughout the year, most recently to a football summer...

WATSONVILLE—It has been one century since Granite Construction was founded,  and since then it has become a construction juggernaut, with subsidiaries throughout the U.S. and projects that include dams, interstate highways, airport runways and skyscrapers. The company celebrated its centennial birthday on June 23 at...

New public self-cleaning restrooms—featuring two stalls—opened last week in the Watsonville City Plaza. The overall cost of the project was $450,000.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) has introduced a number of new incentives aimed at attracting qualified bus operators to address an “unprecedented crisis in staffing levels” in public transportation. Thanks to a recent contract extension between METRO and the three unions...