Local News

WATSONVILLE—At Renaissance High School 56 students graduated this year and took part in an unorthodox drive-through ceremony June 3 to pick up their diplomas. First-year principal Deanna Young said dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, especially as graduation approached, called for tremendous resources at her...

Watsonville native Richard Gurnee, who revolutionized the field of scientific taxidermy by pioneering a freeze-drying technique still employed worldwide, died in October after a brief illness. He was 87. Gurnee graduated from Watsonville High School in 1954, and then studied zoology at Humboldt State University. But...

WATSONVILLE—Swift efforts are underway to open a new Habitat for Humanity ReStore in downtown Watsonville.  The national second-hand retail store is aiming for a mid-August soft opening in the behemoth 9,700-square-foot building at 555 Main St. that once served as a grocery store, a furniture...

Editor’s note: This story was updated from a previous entry. WATSONVILLE—A man driving on southbound Highway 1 early Monday afternoon was arrested after an altercation that ended when his passenger was shot in the face, California Highway Patrol Officer Sam Courtney said. Michael Stuckey, 48,...

The Western Flyer is a 77-foot wooden boat made famous by expeditions of author John Steinbeck and his biologist friend Ed Ricketts. The purse seiner has now found a new home in the Monterey Bay. Built in Tacoma, Wash., in 1937 to fish for sardines in...

Crews from Pacific Gas and Electric have begun work to replace sections of a natural gas pipeline on Walker Street, from Front Street to Ford Street in Watsonville. The work is expected to continue through November.

On Monday I clipped my bike to the 91X Metro Express bus on Water Street in Santa Cruz and came out to Watsonville. The express bus is just that — it whistles out to south county very quickly: I climbed off the bus 35...

Every year, the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture selects the people, organizations and events that help shape the vibrant community that is Watsonville.  All of the awardees will be honored at an awards ceremony in July. Stay tuned to the Pajaronian for the...

All trails, parks and beaches in the county remain closed due to COVID-19. A Santa Cruz County Sheriff deputy was keeping watch on a bicycle/pedestrian path in the Santa Cruz Harbor in Live Oak Sunday. • A man and a woman died in a solo-vehicle crash...