Local News

WATSONVILLE—Gerry Kall on Friday celebrated her 101st birthday in Watsonville, the town she was born in. Thanks to a gathering of relatives, friends, Katie Nuñez, Watsonville Senior Center’s older adult services supervisor, and a handful of folks who cheered out the window of the cars...

New Leaf Energy will bypass Santa Cruz County’s permitting process and instead seek state approval for its proposed battery energy storage system near Watsonville, a move county officials long anticipated as local regulations tightened. In a May 1 letter to County Executive Officer Nicole Coburn,...

WATSONVILLE—The Monterey Bay Rose Society (MBRS) will once again be holding its annual series of free rose pruning classes at various locations across the region. Things kick off Saturday at 10:30am at the Display Rose Garden at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake...

Live music, dance performances, community altars and family activities filled the afternoon in Watsonville Plaza Friday during the annual Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration. Watsonville Film Festival partnered with Santa Cruz County Office of Education, Hospice of Santa Cruz County and Watsonville...

WATSONVILLE—President Joe Biden touched down at Watsonville Municipal Airport on Thursday, a visit that followed his emergency declaration on Jan. 9, which allows businesses and residents that suffered damage and loss in the recent spate of storms to receive federal aid. After touring Capitola Village...

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday will consider extending a moratorium it passed in April on new medical offices in shopping centers.

Tarmo Hannula Last week fellow reporter, Johanna Miller and I drove out along San Andreas Road to get a few photos and a feel of the current agricultural scene. The strawberry fields were abuzz with harvesters. From what I could see everyone was wearing a...

WATSONVILLE—Carol Heitzig said that she doesn't like to travel. “I’ve barely been out of the state,” Heitzig said. But for the past 48 years, she has helped old, young and everyone in between see the world, travel through time and explore the universe as an unsung...