City urges residents to keep sandbags for future storms
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville’s Public Works Department is urging residents to keep any sandbags they received during the recent series of storms through the rest of winter.
“We are recommending that people keep them, just in case,” said Marco Diaz, an administrative assistant for the...
Voting underway for Pajaro River levee assessment
WATSONVILLE—Ballots have now been mailed out to roughly 3,000 people who own property in the Pajaro River floodplain, and the fate of a $400 million levee restoration project is in their hands.
They must decide whether they support a property tax assessment that will pay...
CHP target impaired drivers for New Year’s weekend
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The California Highway Patrol will ratchet up its roadway vigilance over the New Year’s weekend by conducting a Maximum Enforcement Period from 6:01pm Dec. 30 through 11:59pm Jan. 2. During that time, all available CHP officers will be out on patrol with...
WPD: body cameras refute suspect’s abuse claim
WATSONVILLE—Footage from two body-worn cameras – and from the dashboard of a police vehicle – has disproven a claim by a man that Watsonville police officers hit and threw his 3-year-old son to the ground during a traffic stop.
Officer Matt Williams stopped Jhony Argueta,...
Reel Work Labor Film Festival stopping in Watsonville
The 18th annual Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival begins on Sunday and will run through May 4.
Watsonville honors outgoing council, swears in new members
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville bade goodbye to three outgoing members on Tuesday, two of them longtime leaders with decades of combined experience between them.
Lowell Hurst and Rebecca Garcia served for years on the council, including stints as mayor. Francisco “Paco” Estrada was elected in...
Longtime butcher opens new shop
After working as a manager at Freedom Meat Lockers for nearly three decades, William Panis was ready to set off on his own.
His new butcher shop—Willie’s Meat Market—is located at 20 Mariposa off Freedom Boulevard.
He offers a wide selection of meat, sausage and bacon,...
PHOTO: Firefighters douse Ohlone Parkway blaze
Watsonville firefighters chase down hot spots in a wild land fire that broke out Monday at 4:50pm on Ohlone Parkway at Main Street. Division Chief Corey Schaefer said firefighters got a quick handle on the flames that tore through dry brush but did not...
PVUSD Trustees should reconsider layoff decision
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Dec. 11 school board meeting was truly dysfunctional, and represents an extreme deviation from sound governance based on...
