Local News

Editor’s note: This is the third entry of a weekly four-part series about the Pajaro Valley’s Japanese community. The series will culminate on Aug. 14, coinciding with this year’s celebration of the Obon Festival, a cultural and religious Japanese event honoring one’s ancestors. Read...

WATSONVILLE—In a vote that was largely ceremonial, the Watsonville City Council unanimously approved giving $130,000 to the newly-formed Pajaro Valley Healthcare District to help the nonprofit purchase Watsonville Community Hospital’s operations. The contribution from the cash-strapped municipality pales in comparison with those of other jurisdictions...

With election day approaching, voters have several state propositions from which to choose. Below is a brief description of each of them. For a deeper dive, visit voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions. Proposition 2   Public School and Community College Facilities Under Prop. 2, the state would sell a $10 billion...

Searching for joy in the ongoing pandemic calls for a certain focus amidst the cascade of negative numbers such as death tolls, cases and recoveries.  Such is the case for Watsonville artist Sefla Joseph, who has had to reinvent her studio art classes and take...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously adopted an ordinance that will require restaurants and stores to charge a 25-cent fee on all single-use cups starting next summer. The move is aimed at reducing the estimated 50 million to-go cups...

Someday, Ceiba College Preparatory Academy 10th-grader Eduardo De León hopes to study computer science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and forge a path for himself in the field of educational technology.

The Santa Cruz County Fair runs through Sunday. For information, visit santacruzcountyfair.com.

Participating in the 25th year of riding to end AIDS, more than 3,000 cyclists and volunteer "roadies" will ride out of Cow Palace in San Francisco on Sunday to launch their seven-day, 545-mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

In 1942, the U.S. and Mexico hammered out a deal that allowed millions of Mexican men to enter the country to work as Braceros. Through its 22-year history, the Bracero Program saw more than four million workers come to work as agricultural laborers. The Braceros—which...

WATSONVILLE—Second Harvest Food Bank’s efforts to aid Pajaro flood victims received a boost Wednesday when Staff of Life Natural Foods and Smart Chicken donated more than four tons of chicken.  With the Smart Giving Program, Staff of Life Natural Foods and Smart Chicken donated over...