Local News

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved a plan to add ethnic studies as a graduation requirement, a move that comes on the heels of a failed attempt by state lawmakers to create a similar statewide rule earlier...

WATSONVILLE—Work began over the weekend on a major restoration of a long-standing outdoor mural at the La Manzana center. Muralist Guillermo “Yermo” Aranda, who is the creative drive behind scores of murals around Santa Cruz County, Salinas and San Diego, said it was time to...

SACRAMENTO—The California Highway Patrol is set to swear in 77 new officers at a ceremony today at its Academy in West Sacramento.  The move comes as the CHP is down a large number of officers during the pandemic blended with an unusual number of retiring...

MOSS LANDING—As commercial crab fishermen prepare for the season to begin on Nov. 1, they are also grappling with a strict set of new regulations that start the same day, which some say could severely curtail their livelihood. The new rules, created by the California...

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WATSONVILLE—In late September, Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) was finally able to open its gallery’s doors after a six-month closure due to Covid-19. For the first two weeks, the organization displayed “Campesinos: Workers of the Land,” a show that had been installed the week shelter-in-place...

WATSONVILLE—More than two dozen community members at Tuesday night’s Watsonville City Council meeting showed resounding support for the Pajaro Valley Arts Council’s planned rebuild of the historic Porter Building, a City of Watsonville-owned property at the gateway of downtown. And a competing proposal from...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Watsonville Public Library, along with Hospice Santa Cruz County (HSCC), will be hosting a virtual book discussion on Zoom on Nov. 5 at 5:30pm. The event will be centered around author Katy Butler’s “The Art of Dying Well,” a nonfiction book published...

WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office released the names of the two men who were shot and killed on Saturday in Watsonville in separate shooting incidents. The first victim, who was shot near Marchant and E. Front streets around 5:30pm, has been identified as Rafael Salcedo,...

I stopped by the pumpkin patch on Soquel Drive just south of Dominican Hospital recently. They were offering tractor pull rides as part of all the fun. • Election Day is a week away and the ads keep piling up. I’ve seen Yes and No on...