Local News

WATSONVILLE—Former Watsonville Fire Assistant Chief Gene Friend, a household name for many in the Pajaro Valley, died March 25 at Valley Convalescent in Watsonville.  Watsonville Fire Station 1 is emblazoned with his name in large letters as the namesake of the Chief Gene Friend Watsonville...

On Friday, as part of the monthly First Friday Art Tour around Santa Cruz County, Arte del Corazón will return as "Easter Mercado Artesanal" in Romo Park, across Main Street from the City Plaza. Organizer Monica Galvan said the event, which coincides with the...

By Lane Wallace, Special to the Pajaronian Bob Todd, the former Sports Editor of The Pajaronian, died Jan. 12 at his home in Bishop, Inyo County, after a short illness. He was 57. After attending Cabrillo College, Todd worked at The Pajaronian from 1984 to 1995,...

WATSONVILLE—A large group of people gathered in front of Cabrillo College’s Watsonville Campus Monday to watch as a new Pride flag was raised, two days after someone burned the rainbow flag that previously flew there. The flying of the new, larger flag came as a...

WATSONVILLE—Next year, older students statewide will start school later in the morning thanks to a law that takes effect this year. Senate Bill 328, authored by Sen. Anthony Portantino, requires middle schools and high schools to begin no earlier than 8am and 8:30am, respectively. Signed...

Driscoll’s berry company on Tuesday announced Soren Bjorn as the company’s new CEO.  Bjorn previously served as president of Driscoll’s of the Americas. He will assume the role in January and oversee the company’s global day-to-day operations, the company announced in a press release. J. Miles Reiter,...

Watsonville Police are looking for a suspect who fled after striking a man with his vehicle early Friday morning near Auto Center Drive.

WATSONVILLE—A man was injured Friday when the roof of a two-story house partially collapsed, trapping him under the rubble until rescue workers arrived. The man was flown by air ambulance to an out of county trauma center. The collapse occurred at an aging, dilapidated house on...

SANTA CRUZ—Saying that “people were not willing to be governed anymore,” Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Thursday said the county’s daily beach restrictions will be removed starting Friday. Save for water sports, county beaches have been off-limits between 11am-5pm since late April....

WATSONVILLE—Assemblymember Robert Rivas has named Erica Padilla-Chavez, the CEO of Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, as Woman of the Year for Assembly District 30. The March 30 announcement came as part of an annual Women’s History Month observance by the Legislative Women’s Caucus. “Erica has...