Local News

WATSONVILLE—Scores of restaurants around Watsonville have been hit hard by the outbreak of COVID-19. With shelter-in-place orders in effect, residents are asked to stay inside and limit their time near crowds. This includes going to sit-down restaurants, coffee shops, breweries and the like. As such,...

PAJARO—A longtime Royal Oaks resident, Graniterock employee and community organizer on Wednesday announced his run for the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. Steve Snodgrass, 66, has served as Graniterock’s Chief Financial Officer for 35 years, and plans to retire early next year. That experience, he...

Watsonville restaurant The Rustic Table marched away with a first-place award for their Boston clam chowder over the weekend at the annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook Off at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. “In every which way, we came out of this feeling accomplished,...

A house fire on the corner of Lincoln Street and Palm Avenue prompted response from multiple fire agencies Wednesday afternoon, a road closure and use of a nearby fire hydrant.

A new compilation of short stories by 17 local authors, “Santa Cruz Weird,” focuses on the strange, the unexplained and the just plain goofy from the Pajaro Valley to Bonny Doon.

The Watsonville Buddhist Temple (WBT) is one of the Pajaro Valley’s oldest institutions, having served as a center for both religious worship and community service since 1906. Founded by immigrants who arrived in the Pajaro Valley toward the end of the 19th century, the temple...

Though Super Bowl 60 will take place Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Watsonville will roll out its own red carpet at Watsonville Municipal Airport this week.  Shaz Roth, CEO of the  Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, said preparations are under way to welcome...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police Department has several military-grade weapons that it says it only uses in extraordinary circumstances. That armory includes nearly two dozen high-powered rifles, a few shotguns, thousands of rounds of ammunition and dozens of less-lethal and “crowd control” weapons such as flashbangs, rubber grenades...

King tides, or the highest tides of the year, are expected to move into the Monterey Bay Area Wednesday through Friday. Dial Hoang, meteorologist with the National Weather Service of Monterey, said high tides could reach around six feet around Monterey Bay and even 7...

WATSONVILLE—About four dozen people were on hand to celebrate the groundbreaking of an 80-unit affordable housing complex off Atkinson Lane on Nov. 18. In his opening remarks, MidPen Housing President and CEO Matt Franklin said that creating affordable housing communities like Pippin Orchards II is...