Local News

WATSONVILLE—A familiar face has stepped in as the new operator of Pinto Lake City Park. Jesus Madrigal, the president of the Watsonville Farmers Market, was recently named concessionaire for the city’s share of Pinto Lake. His company’s vision for the 78-acre park—70 of which are...

By Erin Malsbury, Special to the Pajaronian MOSS LANDING—The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) recently approved $1.3 million in funding for the final phase of the massive restoration project of the Elkhorn Slough wetlands, an effort that has been in the works since 2012. Wetlands improve...

A Watsonville man suspected of several armed robberies was arrested Friday after a dramatic chase that ended with a crash involving seven vehicles on San Andreas Road.

City and county officials teamed up with community volunteers Thursday morning on a two-hour trash roundup along Westridge Drive as part of ongoing community clean-up efforts by the office of Supervisor Felipe Hernandez. Armed with trash pinchers, buckets and bags, about two dozen people, including...

WATSONVILLE—In the latest chapter in the drawn-out saga at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, a local group has created an online petition to remove Board President Don Dietrich. The petitioners say that Dietrich has shown a lack of leadership, and that he put the needs...

ROYAL OAKS—A 63-year-old man died Thursday after he reportedly fell into a machine at Monterey Mushrooms on Maher Road in Royal Oaks, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office said.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, is investigating the industrial accident. They said Jose Fierro...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday voted unanimously to name Aptos High School’s lower athletic field after Bobby Salazar, who spent four decades as school custodian and who was so involved in the community he was known as the...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday joined other Santa Cruz County municipalities in enacting a moratorium on no-fault evictions until a new state law limiting rent increases and requiring just-cause evictions goes into effect next year. The emergency ordinance passed unanimously with councilwoman Trina Coffman-Gomez...

Days after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing jurisdictions throughout the state to address the homeless camps within their borders—and about one month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws banning sleeping in public do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment—unsanctioned...