Local News

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District has filed a lawsuit against e-cigarette company Juul Labs Inc. for its role in creating an epidemic among young people. The lawsuit, which includes 25 school districts throughout California, also blames the company for the resurgence of young people that...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Mayor Rebecca Garcia had a request during a conference call with Santa Cruz County leaders: don’t forget our Spanish speaking population. The longtime outspoken community activist now in charge of the county’s most densely populated city and largest Latino community pushed leaders to add...

WATSONVILLE—Local artist Jessica Carrasco created the Born and Raised in Watsonville Scholarship last year to support youth while spreading positivity about her hometown. And despite the outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent school closures this year, Carrasco is determined to continue that mission. That is why the...

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WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Arts has officially opened its newest exhibit, “Campesinos: Workers of the Land,” to view virtually on its website during shelter-in-place. The exhibit, curated by Gabriel J. Medina and Judy Stabile, celebrates the contributions of agricultural farmworkers, and has been in the works since...

Santa Cruz County’s shelter-in-place order hasn’t put a lid on Santa Cruz artist Janas Durkee’s creative energy.  Recently the Pacific Coast Charter School art teacher took her skills out of her studio and onto the street, turning the sidewalk in front of her home into...

On a drive along San Andreas Road, Reach Road and Riverside Drive this morning I noticed more field workers harvesting and grooming fields that I’ve seen in a while. I noticed they were wearing masks and gloves. • An early morning fire tore through Master Car...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—New Leaf Community Market has closed its Aptos location after seven employees tested positive for COVID-19. The company made the announcement on its website  on Tuesday, saying the store will stay closed “until further notice.”  The announcement came four days after the store closed...

Officials are saying that two people died in early February from COVID-19 in Santa Clara. The news parallels what officials have recently said about the virus: it got a much earlier start in Wuhan, China than first believed. • Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth...

WATSONVILLE—During the COVID-19 outbreak, Watsonville’s Blume Distillation has decided to expand its production line to help its community. The facility, which provides biorefinery equipment and alcohol-based fuel, developed a line of hand sanitizers, hoping to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “This crisis affects everyone,” said...