Local News

Hollywood actor Edward James Olmos poses with Michelle Rodriguez (right), Superintendent of Pajaro Valley Unified School District and Brenda Avila of the Watsonville Film Festival Friday in front of the Mello Center in Watsonville. Olmos, founder of the Latino Film Institute, made the special...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Clerk/Registrar of Voters has opened in-person voting centers throughout Santa Cruz County for the June 7 Primary Election. Voters may cast ballots at any of the following locations:  •Watsonville City Clerk’s Office, 275 Main St., fourth floor •Temple Beth El, 3055...

Above: American flags line a large swath of Freedom Boulevard Monday for Memorial Day. A crew headed up by VFW Post 1716 of Watsonville took on the task of flying hundreds of coffin flags between the Veterans of Foreign Wars Building on Freedom Boulevard...

When Watsonville/Aptos/Santa Cruz Adult Education leads off the graduation season every year, it is a reminder that educational success does not always follow a traditional path, and that anyone can build for themselves new lives and find second chances—and gain new knowledge—when they are...

WATSONVILLE—Chrislaine Pamphile Miller, who teaches middle school history at Mount Madonna School, was recently commended for her leadership and academic contributions to the Grade 6 Group of the California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP). “Chrislaine was not only a thoughtful and energetic participant in the Grade...

WATSONVILLE—The organization formed earlier this year to operate and oversee Watsonville Community Hospital is nearing its July 1 deadline to raise enough to make the purchase, but is still $16 million short. If Pajaro Valley Healthcare District (PVHD) is unable to raise the funds, it...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County now has several Covid-19 Test to Treat sites available to the community, including the three OptumServe testing sites, which are available to anyone regardless of insurance or documentation status. Test to Treat sites allow individuals to get tested, be...

WATSONVILLE—For the first time in 10 years, Watsonville’s Esperanza del Valle (EDV) will be returning to the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts for a weekend of dancing, music and cultural celebration. The nonprofit folklórico dance group was founded in Watsonville in 1980...

WATSONVILLE—A new pilot program to inform residents of hazardous pesticide applications at area farmlands, under the umbrella of the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, will go into motion in August.  The program was outlined by Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo at a community meeting at...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Brillante, an ongoing mosaic mural project in downtown Watsonville, has officially reached its halfway point. Organizer and artist Kathleen Crocetti says that volunteers recently finished the six thousandth of 12,000 square feet of mosaic. In celebration, Crocetti’s organization, Community Arts & Empowerment, will be...