Fire ravages Watsonville home
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville firefighters responded to a fire Friday afternoon that seriously damaged a home and displaced one resident.
It is unclear what caused the blaze, which started around 1:15 p.m. at 11 Jeanette Way.
Mike Vaz said he has lived in the house more than 30 years. He...
Aptos murder suspect pleads not guilty
SANTA CRUZ—The woman accused of stabbing her husband to death in their home in the Aptos Hills on Aug. 24 was defending herself at the time of the attack, her attorney told reporters Thursday.
Amanda Owens, 51, pleaded not guilty to murder charges during a...
Watsonville bans sale of flavored tobacco, e-cigarettes and vapes
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a sweeping ban on the sale of various tobacco products.
Starting in late November, the sale of flavored tobacco, e-cigarettes and vapes will be outlawed, and pharmacies operating in city limits will no longer be able to...
Slough connector trail at Ramsay Park in the works
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday approved a $303,116 contract with Verde Design, Inc. to complete the Watsonville Slough Connector Trail Project at Ramsay Park.
The project seeks to enhance underused space at the city’s largest urban park by adding and improving trails, planting several...
What’s going on? | Oct. 12-18
Special events
Open Farm Tours (Oct. 12-13)
Due to the increase in attendance at the 2018 tours, an additional day has been added this year so people can visit more farms without being rushed. Fourteen family-owned farms will participate in this year’s tours. All farms implement sustainable...
Community briefs, Oct. 11, 2019
Hospice announces $50,000 grant
Hospice of Santa Cruz County has received a $50,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefits Programs. The grant will help people living with serious illness get access to the resources they need.
The funds will be used by Hospice of Santa...
PVUSD busses to go electric
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a plan to purchase a fleet of electric busses, and build the infrastructure necessary to charge them.
PVUSD Director of Transportation Katie Powell said the move comes thanks to an incentive program by...
Updated public safety sales tax going to Watsonville voters in 2020
WATSONVILLE—The half-cent sales tax that significantly boosted Watsonville’s public safety budget for seven years will return to voters next year.
When it will appear on the ballot, however, is still up for debate.
Watsonville’s City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an updated version of the public...
Parks Commission nixes public art fee
WATSONVILLE—The Parks and Recreation Commission on Monday recommended Watsonville City Council turn down a $200 processing fee for murals and other public art.
The fee would be used to defray the cost of city staff preparing reports on proposed public art for presentation to the...
Sheriff: Pleasure Point kidnapping victim was shot to death
SANTA CRUZ — The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office on Monday said the man kidnapped from his Pleasure Point home on Oct. 1 was shot to death, and confirmed he was murdered.
Tushar Atre, 50, was kidnapped from his upscale oceanfront home about 3 a.m.,...
How Farmworkers Outlawed ‘El Cortito’ 50 Years Ago
For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as “El Cortito,” was used for weeding and thinning rows of crops that kept...
