Local News

WATSONVILLE—In November Uriel Mendoza of Watsonville will mark 21 years of being a bus driver for Santa Cruz METRO. When asked what he liked about his job, he plainly responded, “My job.”  His preferred bus route? “I like all of them,” he said. He said his customers are...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved nine new courses at five high schools that will bolster the district’s newly retooled Career Technical Education program. The new courses were created as extensions of the existing ones, with the penultimate...

APTOS—Cabrillo College held its first-ever virtual graduation on May 22, during which 1,641 students received degrees and certificates. The number of graduates was an 11 percent increase from the year before, said Cabrillo spokeswoman Kristin Fabos. This year, Cabrillo awarded 1,034 A.A. degrees and 541 A.S....

While the Pajaro Valley Arts gallery in Watsonville has remained shuttered during the ongoing shelter-in-place order, its staff and members continue to find ways to stay creative. This has included expanding the organization’s social media presence and moving its latest exhibit, “Campesinos: Workers Of the...

Do you have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the...

Rapper and songwriter Kabwassa has released a new single entitled “In My Head.”  Born and raised in Watsonville, Kabwassa now lives in Los Angeles and has steadily gained a following in California. Much of his music features his hometown, and he often writes about issues...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District is asking residents to help honor the district’s 1,179 graduates by turning on their outdoor lights and decorating their yards between May 25-29. The “Lights On Grads” and Yard/Door Decoration Event is a way to give graduating seniors a...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday voted to allow the city’s moratorium on evictions to expire at the end of the month, and instead defer to tenant protections put in place by California’s Judicial Council. The local moratorium was approved by the council on March...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police shut down a portion of Lake Village Avenue off Tuttle Avenue for nearly two hours as they served a weapons search warrant in the normally sleepy, senior-heavy neighborhood. Roughly two dozen police officers surrounded a house on the 800 block of Lake Village...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez has been named as the recipient of this year’s Phil Rather award. The Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust has been giving the annual award since 1999 to people, businesses and organizations whose contributions improve quality of life...