PV High opens new softball field
WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley High senior Elvia Rodriguez along with members of the Grizzlies’ softball team finally got a chance to test out their new field.
Last week, the team held a private ribbon cutting ceremony and gave a toast with a glass of Martineli’s Sparkling Cider...
Braga steps down as girls’ basketball coach at St. Francis
WATSONVILLE—St. Francis High School girls’ basketball coach Randy Braga—who led the Sharks to three-straight Central Coast Section Division V championships—will not make a return to the sidelines this year.
Athletic Director Adam Hazel issued a press release March 24 stating that Braga stepped down from...
Regional Women’s Business Center launches in Watsonville
WATSONVILLE—California Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) has announced the launch of a new business center in Watsonville for women entrepreneurs.
El Pájaro Women’s Business Center (WBC) will be formed through El Pájaro Community Development Corporation (CDC), a local nonprofit organization aiming to promote equal access...
Photos: PVUSD classified workers demand hazard pay
Editor's note: This story was updated from an earlier version to correct errors in reporting.
About 100 Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) classified workers—bus drivers, mechanics, janitors and food services employees, among others—gathered in front of district headquarters in Watsonville Wednesday calling for...
Mariachis play on, their music unsilenced by the virus or the deaths
Facing the stone archway of St. Joseph’s Salesian Youth Retreat Center outside Los Angeles, the dark wooden coffin holding the body of Juan Jiménez was wheeled next to a band of masked mariachis. The group readied themselves to play, simultaneously lifting bows to violins,...
PHOTO: Suspect with knife caught chasing man
Watsonville Police officers lead suspect Joel Navarro to a patrol car Tuesday after they caught him with a knife, chasing another man.
WPD spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said it appears Navarro and the victim got into a verbal altercation before Navarro brandished a knife and...
City’s state-mandated housing goals expected to increase
WATSONVILLE—Although the city of Watsonville has made modest gains in its state-mandated housing goals, it will need to nearly triple the number of units it has built over the past five years before 2023.
That sobering reality presented to the City Council at its virtual...
Green Valley Road closures begin Wednesday
WATSONVILLE—The County of Santa Cruz Department of Public Works has announced that Green Valley Road in Watsonville, from Celia Drive to Paulsen Road, will be subject to daily closure between 8:30am and 4:30pm, starting Wednesday and running through April 14, weather permitting.
The road will...
Supervisors approve public defender transition plan
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a transition plan to create a county-run public defender’s office, which includes hiring staff and a chief public defender.
County officials are now in talks with attorneys working for Biggam, Christensen and Minsloff (BCM),...
Community outreach lead quits Watsonville policing committee citing ‘dismissive’ behavior
WATSONVILLE—The person tasked with creating a bridge between the community and the city of Watsonville’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Policing and Social Equity resigned earlier this month.
Joy Flynn, a community activist who sits on the boards of various organizations in Santa Cruz County, says she...
What Makes Watsonville Community Hospital—and America—Great
Thirty-three years ago, while my family was preparing for a birthday party, I decided to arrive early. My mother was shopping for a cake...
