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Watsonville
November 8, 2025

Fireworks sales set to begin, enforcement steps up

watsonville fireworks
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Law enforcement officials around the county are gearing up in an effort to keep illegal fireworks off the street this summer, as Fourth of July approaches and residents who have been cooped up for months look to blow off steam. Enforcement has become...

Man arrested for firing shots ; no injuries

LIVE OAK — Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Sunday arrested a man who reportedly fired several shots into the air in the area of Winkle Drive and Soquel Avenue. Anthony Martinez-Franco, 18, was charged with willful discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm...

Cannabis licensing manager resigns

Daniel Peterson, who was hired as the county’s first cannabis licensing manager in September, announced Wednesday that he is resigning from the position.

Watsonville man sentenced for double-fatal DUI crash

SALINAS—A Watsonville man who was driving drunk when he killed two people last year will spend eight years and eight months in prison, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni announced. Joel Gonzalez, 22, pleaded no contest to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated...

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County announces $320K in grants

rise together community foundation santa cruz county
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County announced $320,000 in grants issued by the Rise Together Fund for Racial Equity. Over the course of three granting cycles, the foundation has now awarded $1.1 million to the coalition. Founded in 2020, Rise Together is a coalition of Black,...

Meals on Wheels given half-year eviction reprieve

SANTA CRUZ—Meals on Wheels of Santa Cruz County (MOW) has received a temporary reprieve, seven months after receiving an eviction notice from Live Oak School District. The organization has been operating out of the Live Oak Senior Center—which the school district owns—since 1977. While the eviction...

PVUSD trustees reject Medina censure

Editor's note: This story has been updated from a previous version. The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees rejected a move to censure Trustee Gabriel Medina during a clamorous public board meeting on May 7 that included public outcry and bickering among board...

Earthquake shakes Watsonville, Bay Area

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake was reported in San Benito County on Tuesday afternoon and could be felt in parts of the Bay Area. The quake was reported at 3:23pm April 4 and was centered about five miles northwest of Hollister and 19 miles west-southwest of Salinas,...

Watsonville officials, residents mull city’s General Plan

More than 100 people spent their Saturday morning in the community room of the Watsonville Civic building, where they joined the City Council and other officials in discussions about Watsonville’s General Plan. The council made no official decisions during the informal meeting, which was one...

METRO bus service changes underway

metro bus watsonville transit center
Big changes are now underway at the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO). As of Dec. 21, METRO is implementing bus service improvements as part of Reimagine METRO, an effort to increase service, adapt to post-Covid travel patterns and create a more useful transit...
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‘Catz football claws their way back to beat MVC | Weeklys...

Watsonville sophomore Noel Navarro had three rushing touchdowns, and the Wildcatz defeated Monte Vista Christian, 42-41, in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division-North football...