Watsonville faces grueling economic recovery from Covid-19 shutdown
WATSONVILLE—It took roughly a decade for Watsonville to fully recover from the Great Recession, and officials fear the Covid-19 pandemic’s mass closures could send the city into a similar financial quagmire.
As restaurants and shops have closed, and auto sales—Watsonville’s top sales tax generator—have slumped,...
Evening With the Mayor aims to raise money for holiday lights display
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Mayor Jimmy Dutra says he clearly remembers the light displays that once lined downtown every holiday season.
As a kid, Dutra would see the sparkling candy canes, snowflakes and more that adorned the street lights, poles and storefronts as he and his family walked...
Big rig tears off hydrant, geyser erupts in downtown Watsonville
A powerful geyser of water blasted into the sky at Main and West Beach streets for more than five hours Monday after a big rig knocked over a fire hydrant just past 10am.
The stream of water gushing from the ground was so strong that...
Watsonville City Council places sales tax measure on Nov. 8 ballot
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville voters will have yet another enormous decision before them in what will likely be a critical election and moment in the city’s history.
The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday night meeting placed a half-cent general sales tax measure on the Nov. 8 ballot...
State Parks closed for COVID-19 | About Town
All 280 California State Parks have been closed to all day use visitors and all vehicles are being turned away during the COVID-19 outbreak.
•
The first case of COVID-19 was announced in Santa Cruz County on March 6 and now — three weeks later —...
County picks Aranda as Artist of the Year
The County of Santa Cruz has named multi-media artist Guillermo “Yermo” Aranda as the 2021 Artist of the Year.
Every year the Arts Commission presents the award to a local artist for their achievements in performing, visual or literary arts, as well as their contributions...
Photo story: Symphony performance features local dancers
Members of Esperanza del Valle of the Pajaro Valley are joined Tuesday by performers from Vera Cruz, Mexico at the Mello Center Tuesday as part of the Santa Cruz Symphony's tour, The Orchestra Swings. With an auditorium packed with fourth and fifth graders from...
City Council green-lights abatement of ‘nuisance’ homeless camp
Watsonville can begin clearing a large homeless encampment on Airport Boulevard after the City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution to allow city officials to “abate the public nuisance.”
The council declared the parcel a public nuisance on Nov. 18.
The 2.75-acre wooded property lies...
Side Ride | Photo Gallery
Do you have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the...
Aptos High to stage “Peter Pan and Wendy”
Students at Aptos High Drama Production will present “Peter Pan and Wendy!” April 24-26 at their campus theater.
The play features Jake Semb as Peter Pan and Lemoni Anastasopoulos as Tinkerbell in this reimagined take on a classic children’s tale.
“This show is different from the...
Watsonville oversized vehicle ordinance takes effect
A new city ordinance restricting where oversized vehicles and trailers can park took effect on March 13.
The ordinance prohibits oversized vehicles and all types...
