Local News

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

WATSONVILLE—Since the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1716 was founded nearly a century ago, it has been a place for vets to find the camaraderie of shared experience, as well as a gathering spot for friends. More importantly, the Watsonville organization—and others like it nationwide—offer...

APTOS—The Aptos High School and Aptos Junior High School choir departments have been hard at work for the past few months, preparing for their upcoming “Sounds of the Season” holiday concert. Along the way, they dealt with some bumps in the road—most notably the power...

Alex Sandoval oversees a project Tuesday to breach the Pajaro River where it meets the sea. Sandoval said his crew fears upcoming storms might send water levels over Beach Road and over roadways within the Pajaro Dunes community. The County Of Santa Cruz is issuing...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police on Thursday arrested a Salinas woman accused of embezzling more than $75,000 from a Watsonville business located on Hangar Way. Julie Brooks, 50, faces felony grand theft charges. She was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on $100,000 bail, but was not in...

A local group is calling on the nation’s largest berry grower to cease the use of pesticides on farm fields located near schools. The Campaign for Organic & Regenerative Agriculture (CORA) will hold a press conference and community gathering on May 21 to ask Driscoll’s...

One week after announcing that funding woes could force local Head Start and early Head Start programs to close, Encompass Community Services—which oversees the programs—announced that they will remain open through Oct. 31. The announcement means that the 250 families that depend on the early...