Local News

WATSONVILLE—The art of Juan R. Fuentes, a Watsonville High graduate, is the feature of the latest Pajaro Valley Arts exhibit, “Resilience: Works of Strength and Dignity 2023.” The body of over 50 works in woodcut, linocut, linocut/screenprint and screenprint—plus more than two dozen posters—spans Fuentes’...

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Karen Osmundson has held her Area III seat since 2004, and has survived challenges in four elections and garnered support of educators districtwide.  But this year will mark the end of her tenure. While she said she plans to remain...

WATSONVILLE—Every year, Santa Cruz Toys for Tots – and the numerous volunteers that support it – make sure children across the county have a surprise on Christmas. Last year, the organization provided more than 11,000 toys, games, bikes and other gifts. On Tuesday, when a rainstorm...

A stretch of road alongside Highway 101 could soon be home to a tunnel complex turned wildlife crossing under the busy highway. The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County announced Sept. 9 that it has agreed to purchase the 2,640-acre Rocks Ranch in Aromas at...

PAJARO—Last year, every eighth-grader in Monterey County was given the gift of a lifetime: A chance to see the Tony Award-winning musical “Hamilton: An American Musical” live in San Francisco. Thanks to a generous donation by the Dan and Lillian King Foundation, 9,000 kids from...

Watsonville Brillante, the massive, 10-phase outdoor mosaic project in Watsonville, has just been named Best in Show in the Mosaic and Glass Arts International 2023 exhibition series in Buffalo, New York.  Lead artist Kathleen Crocetti of Watsonville learned of the prestigious announcement Wednesday. “When I first...

WATSONVILLE—Young people in South County suffering from mental health crises now have the option of a response that does not have to involve hospitalization. The South County Mobile Emergency Response Team for Youth (MERTY) was created to provide community and field-based crisis intervention services to...

Watsonville Wetlands Watch was recently awarded a $3.275 million federal grant to boost its tree planting and education programs. Its project, called Growing Tree Canopy, Climate Resilience and Green Jobs Pathways in the Pajaro Valley (PV Trees), will build upon its established urban forestry program...

TARMO HANNULA: Temperatures sunk into the 30s overnight. The National Weather Service said rain will drench our region Thursday, starting up before 8 a.m. • More than 17.9 million acres have now burned in Australia’s bush fires, an area larger than Belgium and Denmark combined. So far...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District Student Trustee Daniel Esqueda filed a formal complaint against Trustee Oscar Soto on Oct. 25 for remarks the latter made at recent board meetings. The Uniform Complaint Procedure is in place in cases of “unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying...