Local News

Observations from the Pajaro Valley and beyond.

Work continues on the installation of large tile panels in the eighth phase of the ongoing mosaic mural project, titled Watsonville Brilliante, which has covered much of the parking structure at the corner of Second and Rodriguez streets. Headed up by Watsonville artist Kathleen Crocetti,...

WATSONVILLE—Since the state opened its Covid-related rental assistance program roughly a year ago, 889 Watsonville residents who have fallen behind on their monthly payments have submitted an application for help. But only around half of those people have received funds, putting them in a precarious...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival announced the launch of its 2023 Cine Se Puede Fellowship, a program designed to support emerging Latine filmmakers in the region.  The fellowship is a year-long program that provides funding, mentorship, industry connections, workshops and master classes, as well as peer...

Thousands of people lined the main streets of Watsonville and Aptos Thursday to watch the parades that have become a tradition stretching back decades. The Spirit of Watsonville parade kicked off at 12:30pm, two hours after the Worlds Shortest Parade, which takes place in Aptos...

WATSONVILLE—Some 80 people gathered in the Watsonville Civic Plaza Monday evening to welcome in Jorge Zamora as Watsonville Police Department’s new chief. A homegrown officer who started with the department as a cadet at the age of 15, Zamora said in a speech before being...

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the $1.1 billion proposed budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, including a $731 million General Fund. While the county’s financial outlook takes into account slowing revenue growth, it funds community priorities such as the...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The County of Santa Cruz has announced the availability of Covid-19 relief funds for local small businesses and nonprofits responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. Available through the Santa Cruz County Cares Recovery Program, applications are now being accepted through Sept. 15 for...

A 21-year-old Watsonville man was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of threatening a mass shooting at an unspecified Pajaro Valley Unified School District graduation ceremony. Moises Resendiz was charged with making criminal threats, a felony. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail and was...

The man who kidnapped, raped and murdered an 8-year-old girl before placing her body in a recycling bin in 2015 will spend at least another two years in prison. After less than a week of deliberations, a jury denied Adrian “A.J.” Gonzlaez’s bid for parole...