Local News

A ribbon-cutting was held Thursday to celebrate the completion of an upgrade to the heavily worn out Murphy Crossing Road east of Watsonville. With close to 1,800 vehicles a day using the .63-mile stretch between San Juan and Riverside roads, the two-lane roadway was for...

The Santa Cruz County Fair wrapped up Sunday at the close of its five-day, 2025 season. “We had an excellent fair,” said Ron Haedicke, marketing director. “ It was a great run with no issues. Attendance was down 10 percent from last year, but we...

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Watsonville Sunday for the annual Mexican Independence Day Festival. Hosted by Fiestas Patrias, the free event featured a wealth of live bands, both local and from Mexico, folkloric dance groups, food booths, arts and crafts and information tables that...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District has hired a new public information officer. Alejandro Chávez will serve as the intermediary between the public and media, and the district. According to a Facebook post, Chávez brings more than two decades of experience in public service, nonprofit management and...

Twelve years ago, the first Open Farms Tours event was literally a washout. Held in early November at the Corralitos Women’s Center, the debut coincided with the heaviest rainstorm of the year. The 4-H animal zoo zone was mired in mud, music was canceled, and...

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed an ordinance that would prohibit the sale of recreational nitrous oxide, and also made changes to lab services in the Health Services Agency. The supervisors agreed to outsource the Health Services Agency’s (HSA) laboratory services...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday renewed the contract for 20 license plate reader cameras—and despite community opposition added 17 additional ones—for a $251,000, two-year contract. Council members voted 5-2 in favor of the new contract, with Mayor Maria Orozco and Councilwoman Vanessa Quiroz-Carter dissenting. The...

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved the contract for a new Chief Business Officer. Gerardo Castillo will make $229,000 annually, along with a yearly $5,806 stipend for his Certified Public Accountant certification. In addition, he will get a 2.5%...

On Tuesday, a small group of railroad and warehouse officials from Chicago—and one from Felton—gathered in the S. Martinelli & Co. warehouse in Watsonville to watch as workers loaded a rail car with pallets full of apple juice and other products for an 8-day...