Local News

Sensei Fred Castillo has continued practicing and teaching karate in Watsonville for decades.

Editor’s note:  This is the second 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...

The Santa Cruz County Zoning Administrator on Friday approved a series of renovations at the Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center, a decision that will allow the project to begin.

WATSONVILLE—A long-awaited major street and sidewalk improvement project on a block of Lincoln Street that bisects Watsonville High School is moving forward. The state-funded Lincoln Street Safety Improvement Project will shorten crosswalks, make the sidewalks ADA compliant, and add a mid-block crosswalk, additional lighting, new...

WATSONVILLE—Scores of volunteers flowed into the area of upper Struve Slough early Saturday morning to participate in World Wetlands Day. The international celebration, now in its 12th year, aims to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands and commemorates the signing of the Convention on...

WATSONVILLE—A group of about 30 nurses at Watsonville Community Hospital held a demonstration Wednesday asking that management keep nurse-to-patient ratios at their present level. The demonstration came five days after the California Department of Public Health sent a memo to the state’s general acute care...

After opening a new fitness center on Green Valley Road in Watsonville just over a year ago, Toadal Fitness continues to expand services, including major renovations of the pool. The Watsonville club, at 25 Penny Lane, is part of a group of centers sprinkled around...

The Parks and Community Services Department recently planted four large Queen Palms in front of the Watsonville Transit Center on Rodriguez Street.

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police arrested a teen male and recovered two loaded handguns Tuesday evening after responding to a report of a group of teenagers smoking and drinking at a park in a quiet suburb. Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said police got a call about...