Local News

APTOS — If a plan by a newly formed group is successful, nearly three-dozen middle school girls from Pajaro Valley Unified School District will enter high school and college with bolstered self-confidence, self awareness and academic prowess.

"Try This" is a weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like.

WATSONVILLE—When author Edward R. Weingold was only 8 years old, he was scanning through his parents’ world atlas when he came across a life-changing photograph. The graphic image showed a pile of corpses—victims of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Nazi Germany. Weingold said he remembers his...

Kim Steinhardt loves sea otters. For anyone who grew up on the Northern California coast, this declaration might not be that surprising — but Steinhardt is pretty certain most don’t reach his level of fixation.

WATSONVILLE—Seventeen students earned their diplomas at New School in Watsonville this year. Principal Rafael Ramirez said he was “enormously proud” of his graduates, adding that the pandemic brought on extra challenges for staff and students. “But they worked hard and we got through,” Ramirez said. “We’re...

WATSONVILLE—Lane closures are in place on Highway 1 where it crosses the Pájaro River to allow crews to repair the storm-damaged bridge. The work, which got underway Thursday, calls for the closure of one of two southbound lanes of Highway 1 south of Riverside Drive,...

Tarmo Hannula: When my friend Noel, a family attorney, dropped me off in downtown Watsonville early Wednesday I walked into the Second Street Café for a coffee. For years I’ve carried my own reusable thermos to save on throw-away cups. In line I got...

WATSONVILLE—The tricky intersection at Airport Boulevard and Holm Road will soon be a bit safer. That’s thanks to a $481,600 Highway Safety Improvement Program grant accepted by the City Council during its Tuesday meeting that will cover the costs of installing a traffic signal at...

APTOS—A Soquel man died in a solo-vehicle crash early Saturday morning, California Highway Patrol officer Alyssa Gutierrez said. Just before 1am Carlos Deleon, 42, was traveling west on Soquel Drive in a 2005 Pontiac G6. For unknown reasons, Deleon lost control and smashed into a...