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Watsonville
June 26, 2026

PHOTOS: Mosaics on the move in downtown Watsonville

watsonville brillante rodriguez street parking structure downtown
A new phase of the massive outdoor mural project, Watsonville Brillante, was unveiled recently along the Rodriguez Street side of the six-floor parking structure. Around 60 mosaic panels make up phase seven of the 10-phase project that features themes of Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Norway,...

New DNA lab will save money, expedite cases

Santa Cruz County Sheriff's forensic team members receive an award for their new $1.8 million DNA lab.
For years, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office’s sciences lab has been analyzing crime scene evidence: data from cell phones and computers, tire tread marks and fingerprints, just to name a few. But analyzing DNA evidence—a field that takes not only a science background and...

Soroptimists give $32,500 to students

Eight students in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District received a total of $32,500 from Soroptimist International of Watsonville at an awards banquet at Watsonville High School on May 22.

Welcome sign gets major update

WATSONVILLE—New metal signs were installed Wednesday on the “Welcome to Watsonville” signboard on Main Street.  The move, headed up by the Sons of Italy, the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and the Watsonville Woman’s Club, was designed to update the large wood signboard...

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds hires new manager after months-long search

Zeke Fraser santa cruz county fairgrounds
Zeke Fraser was hired as the new manager of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, the board of directors announced Tuesday, capping off a search that began when former manager Dave Kegebein was fired in October. Fraser, a resident of Santa Cruz for nearly 30 years,...

Kim Baskett appointed to judge position

A woman who has served as Santa Cruz County Superior Court commissioner since 2007 has been appointed as judge by Gov. Jerry Brown, the court announced Monday.

City proposing utilities rate increases to fund numerous projects

Watsonville city council
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council will have a public hearing on May 25 concerning proposed utilities rate increases over the next five years, a cost city staff says is needed in order to make several upgrades to ailing infrastructure. The new rates would mean a typical...

Gun found at Aptos High tied to ‘off-campus incident,’ authorities say

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s investigators believe a firearm found on the Aptos High School campus this week is likely tied to an incident that occurred during winter break at the school, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. According...

Man arrested for stabbing

A Santa Cruz man is in custody and facing attempted murder charges for a stabbing that occurred Monday night on the San Lorenzo River Levee.

Pajaro levee assessment headed to voters

Pajaro River levee
PAJARO—People living in south Santa Cruz County and north Monterey County could soon see Pajaro River’s levee system rebuilt, a long-awaited project that would offer up to 100-year flood protection to the area, and be a comfort to residents who have been beset by...
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The Pajaronian’s Female Athlete of the Year: Olivia Contreras

There’s a lot of work that goes into being a student-athlete nowadays. Most have to juggle between practice, workouts (sometimes twice a day), school work...