Local News

Asked to describe this year’s crop of graduates, Watsonville High School Principal Clara Fernandez lauded the 439 Wildcatz of the class of 2021 for their resiliency and determination to make it through more than a year of distance-learning instruction. Roughly 99% of all seniors, Fernandez...

WATSONVILLE—The city of Watsonville is expected to resume negotiations with the Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) Council for the sale of the Porter Building after no affordable housing developers showed serious interest in the historic landmark. Watsonville and PVA earlier this year had begun early discussions...

By Jane Sellen SALINAS—On May 27 dozens gathered at the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s office in Salinas, calling on the state and county governments to web-post advance warning of agricultural pesticide use. The event was one of several by farmworking communities across California who joined together...

After a year of ups and downs, things are looking good for wineries in the Pajaro Valley. That is according to two long-standing wineries, both nestled in the Pleasant Valley area between Watsonville and Aptos. Alfaro Family Vineyard-Winery was first established in 1997 by Richard...

NEW BRIGHTON STATE BEACH—A Watsonville man died Thursday morning after he reportedly fell off of a towering cliff at New Brighton State Beach. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said Edward Murillo-Jimenez, 32, was pronounced dead at the base of the cliff. A hiker...

CASTROVILLE—Three men were killed and another was injured by gunfire early Monday in Castroville during a party that spilled out onto the streets. On Tuesday the victims were identified as Julian Gallegos, 30, Jeff Robles, 21, and Juliani Robles, 21—all of Salinas—according to the Monterey...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—At the apex of last year’s crisis points—the pandemic, George Floyd’s murder and the greater countrywide calls for social justice—several Santa Cruz County leaders were brought together to try to change the system from within. The group consists of people across the gender...

WATSONVILLE—Pete Galvan, who devoted the breadth of his career in education to Watsonville High School, will retire this month. When Galvan steps off campus for the last time on Aug. 17, it will be the end of a tenure that began nearly four decades ago. More...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police recovered two stolen vehicles inside of an hour Thursday. Watsonville Police Service Specialist Marilyn Lopez noticed the first vehicle, a 2000 Honda CRV, on Hill Avenue at Tuttle Street at 12:10pm. Lopez said she had spotted the green SUV parked in the same...

The pandemic created a frenzied real estate market in much of the United States that has yet to let up, with demand for housing still outpacing the number of homes coming on the market, giving sellers a heavy upper hand in most of the...