Local agriculture workers receive vaccine
WATSONVILLE—In the span of less than a week, Dignity Health-Dominican Hospital was able to set up a mass Covid-19 vaccination clinic on the outskirts of Watsonville to inoculate 1,000 people in the agriculture industry.
Dignity Health’s parent corporation, CommonSpirit, said it would have 2,000 extra...
Watsonville businesses remain boarded up
Numerous businesses continue to keep their windows covered with large sheets of plywood in downtown Watsonville and at the Overlook Shopping Center on Main Street. The move was triggered Wednesday night by someone who posted a notice promising “barbaric protests" Thursday as part of the...
New downtown Watsonville art studio opens first major exhibit
WATSONVILLE—Gina Arnold knew for years that her father was an amateur artist. He would say that he went out to paint every weekend, and he had an office full of paints. He even sent out hand-painted Christmas cards every year.
But Arnold had no idea...
PVUSD faces grim post-Covid-19 budget
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday got a first look at its budget for the coming school year, which has taken a severe hit both by declining enrollment and the loss of revenue from the Covid-19 crisis.
PVUSD Chief Business...
City budget buoyed by sales tax revenue ‘bubble’
WATSONVILLE—Despite the economic shutdowns resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the city of Watsonville’s overall sales tax revenues have held steady thanks to a myriad of reasons, including a sharp rise in online and local shopping.
That’s according to Administrative Services Director Cindy Czerwin who at...
PVUSD approves $2.86 million water project at Renaissance High
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Saturday approved a $2.857 million state funding agreement that will connect Renaissance High School to the Soquel Creek Water District, replacing the campus’s groundwater system that has been plagued by elevated levels of hexavalent...
Food giveaway helps local families during holiday
WATSONVILLE—Sherry Dang knows how tough it can be to go to bed hungry.
Dang, co-owner of a handful of 7-Eleven stores around the Central Coast with Kirk di Cicco, said she spent time without a home and went days without food while growing up in...
Watsonville affordable housing project scores $2M loan
WATSONVILLE—A 53-unit affordable housing development planned for the heart of Freedom Boulevard received a $2 million loan thanks to Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and Housing Trust Silicon Valley, the agencies announced Thursday evening.
The development will bring much-needed affordable housing for families earning 20-60% of...
Rountree escapee captured 8 hours later
WATSONVILLE—An inmate at the Rountree Medium Facility on the outskirts of Watsonville escaped Friday afternoon, leading to an intensive search that ended with his capture later the same day.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn said Christopher Dicochea escaped around 3:45pm from the correctional center on...
A parade of dancers in Zacatecas
As our one-week August vacation was nearing an end in Zacatecas, Mexico, my wife Sarah and I had been to around 20 dance performances...
