Local News

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (center) is joined by other dignitaries and officials Wednesday during a visit to Pajaro where floodwaters have shut down the town of around 2,000 people and flooded homes, vehicles and farms. Newsom arrived shortly before noon in Pajaro and was...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz Gives is back, and the annual countywide crowdfunding holiday campaign is bigger than ever.  Following a year that saw skyrocketing donations, Santa Cruz Gives has doubled the number of nonprofits it will raise funds for from 40 to 80. The online campaign,...

The California Highway Patrol has arrested a Watsonville man for allegedly driving into a CHP motorcycle officer on Sept. 6.

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday voted to close the crosswind runway at the airport, a move city officials say will open up more of the city for development of housing and commercial space. Airport Director Rayvon Williams told the council that closing the shorter...

Watsonville Film Festival is partnering with Cabrillo College’s “Hispanic Serving Institution Week” to celebrate Mexican Independence Day at the Watsonville Plaza on Friday from 5-7:30pm.  This free family event will feature live music by Mariachi Juvenil Corazón Jaliscience from Hollister and Laura Rebolloso, a singer,...

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—Stephen Gerald Bankhead was a longtime Watsonville resident who made learning about Pajaro Valley’s history—and relaying it to the community—his passion in the latter part of his life. Most recently, he wrote the Pajaro Valley Past column for The Pajaronian, taking it over from historian...

This story has been updated from a previous version. A cascading wave of fiscal challenges such as the election of President Donald Trump, his One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and a cyber attack, has Watsonville Hospital’s leadership team worried that it will not have...