Local News

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission will review plans for two proposed cannabis dispensaries at its July 13 meeting. Bryce Berryessa of Berryessa Holdings, LLC, and Jason Sweatt of Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance, Inc. are both expected to present to the commission at its monthly virtual meeting. Berryessa...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville City Councilman Aurelio Gonzalez will take an indefinite leave of absence from his duties because of a family emergency, he confirmed Tuesday. Gonzalez said that he hopes to return to the City Council and the various boards and commissions on which he sits sometime...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s Mansion House was built in an era when horse-drawn carriages and motor coaches shared unpaved roads, and served as a luxurious stopover for visitors to the agricultural epicenter that was Watsonville.  The Mansion House, a centerpiece of Watsonville’s historic downtown, will turn 150 this...

The extensive slough system that runs through the heart of the Pajaro Valley has become a cornerstone for local recreation, wildlife viewing, education and research.  These wetlands are home to various species of animals and plants, many rare and endangered. They help replenish groundwater, buffer...

WATSONVILLE—On many days, when groups of school kids crowd into Conchita’s Ice Cream in Plaza Vigil for an afternoon treat, handfuls of people experiencing homelessness show up, some pushing shopping carts loaded with their possessions through the store and others demanding free items. The people,...

A California Highway Patrol officer surveys the damage where a Chevrolet 1500 pickup slammed into a Buick LaCrosse on San Andreas Road Thursday. CHP officer Fred Smith said the male driver of the pickup, that was traveling south of San Andreas Road, appeared to...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville’s first retail cannabis outlet, called The Hook, opens Friday. The 3,600-square-foot warehouse is located on a stretch of road on Hangar Way in a quickly growing part of the city that includes the Slough Brewing Collective and Santa Cruz Cider Co. Co-owner Bryce Berryessa...

A crew from Vacant Property Security installs one of several traffic blocks in the parking lot of the former Kmart on Freedom Boulevard. On Oct. 12, the Watsonville City Council started the process of declaring the abandoned property a public nuisance due to illegal...

APTOS—Cabrillo College’s theater arts department is finally returning to in-person performances after three seasons of virtual shows. “Charley’s Aunt” is a wacky farce chock full of love, deception, and confusion. Originally written by English playwright Brandon Thomas in 1862, Cabrillo’s production will be directed by...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Ivy League Project was launched 14 years ago with a simple idea: bringing high school students to the nation’s top universities will give them a taste of their possible options after they graduate. And the experiment has been successful. Since its inception, more...