Local News

The Santa Cruz County Fair begins Wednesday, and volunteers at the Historic Rodgers House are gearing up for visitors to come tour a piece of Watsonville history.

HOLLISTER—Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Daniel Dodge, Jr. last month was cited and released after being arrested on suspicion of stealing less than $300 worth of product from his employer in Hollister. Hollister Police Department Chief of Police Carlos Reynoso said officers were called...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police on April 16 arrested a homeless man for allegedly setting two fires. Elio Ortega, 41, was charged with arson. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, jail records showed. Ortega was arrested after officers responded to a report...

California’s largest operator of recycling redemption centers has closed all 284 of its locations statewide, further throwing into disarray an already upended industry.

WATSONVILLE—Starting an event centered around comics, art, fantasy and the collectibles that those realms inspire was something Francisco “Paco” Estrada had first dreamed up when he was elected into the Watsonville City Council in 2018. The idea was, Estrada says, to give kids—and adults—a safe...

On Aug. 14, about 400 students will return to Pajaro Middle School, more than a year after flood waters forced the campus to close. This includes seventh-graders who spent their first middle school year at a different school. On Friday, several workers were continuing to...

A team of technicians arrived at Pinto Lake City Park on Monday, where they prepared for a treatment city leaders hope will help clean what has been called one of the most polluted lakes in the U.S.

Editor’s note: This is the second entry in a multi-part series concerning housing in the Pajaro Valley. For the first part see the Sept. 13 edition of The Pajaronian or click here.   WATSONVILLE—Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why Watsonville struggles to keep up with its growing...

A new series of murals has been installed at Pinto Lake County Park, with the goal of encouraging more visitors to the park and showcasing local art.  The murals are part of the Art Hike Challenge, organized by County Parks Friends (CPF). Guests can download...