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...
Photos: Watsonville pump track opens
The Ramsay Park Pumptrack, the only asphalt-covered pump track in Santa Cruz County, officially opened on Tuesday in Watsonville. On April 11 from 1:30-4:30pm Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz, who built the track, will hold a special all-girls pump track event. The event is...
Cabrillo president rejects ‘Eurocentric’ description of school’s namesake
APTOS—As Santa Cruz County’s community college begins efforts to possibly rebrand itself with a new name—and reject the name of Spanish Explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo—two drastically different pictures of the man at the center of the debate have emerged.
Cabrillo College began to explore a...
PV High football team wins in stadium debut
WATSONVILLE—The stage was set for Pajaro Valley High senior Martin Gonzalez and the Grizzlies’ football team as they finally got a chance to play a home game on their own campus for the first time in the program’s history.
The Grizzlies left their fans more...
Dozens show support locally for Asian Americans after recent attacks
WATSONVILLE—Joining forces with others around the nation, a protest against anti-Asian violence unfolded at the City Plaza Friday.
About 40 people waved homemade signs reading “#Stop Asian Hate,” among other things, at passing motorists and pedestrians in downtown Watsonville.
“Today we came to show our solidarity...
PVUSD Trustees to revisit teacher layoff vote
A little more than one week after voting to eliminate roughly 80 teacher positions, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will...
