Local News

With a theme of “Hometown USA,” the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture held its 61st annual Awards Dinner and Auction on Saturday at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. This year’s honorees were Woman of the Year Trina Coffman-Gomez, Man of the Year...

Every year, as the fleeting summer days pass, staff and volunteers at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds prepare for the coming fair, which is at once a community celebration of the region’s agricultural bounty and an embrace of autumn. The first step in the Herculean...

Plans to bring Watsonville Community Hospital—and the property on which it sits—into public ownership took a giant step forward Wednesday. The Pajaro Valley Health Care District (PVHD) Board of Directors approved a proposal to hire Isom Advisors, a municipal bond advisory firm that will help...

The National Association of Counties (NACo) on July 21 voted unanimously to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to change the way it funds flood control projects for economically disadvantaged communities. Currently, the ACOE uses a 1:1 benefit-cost ratio when figuring the feasibility...

Since June, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees has been considering a plan to retool its Visual and Performing Arts program at its 16 elementary schools, a proposal that includes splitting art teachers between most schools. The shift would be part of...

Recovery planning in Pajaro is entering a new long-term phase, more than four months after the Pajaro River levee was breached during heavy rain. The breach flooded the area and caused widespread property and infrastructure damage.  The Monterey County Board of Supervisors received an update...

How much can you cram into a three-week trip to a foreign country?  A lot.  That’s the answer for a group of seven teens and a chaperone from Croatia on their three-week journey to Watsonville that wrapped up over the weekend.  The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Yosemite,...

After a career in law enforcement that spanned nearly three decades, with assignments that included the downtown walking beat, Watsonville Police Officer Kraig Kliewer hung up his hat Wednesday, with a send-off from his colleagues. Kliewer says he wanted to be a police officer for...

“Out of the Fire” is the latest art exhibit to showcase at the Pajaro Valley Arts Sudden Street Gallery. More than 55 artists are in the show with artwork that was created or affected by fire, such as a kiln, welding, blown glass and...

While she can’t quite remember what sparked her interest, Arielle Bennet has known she wanted to be a firefighter since she was a small child. Bennet, 18, has been a part of the Watsonville Fire Youth Academy since last year, and now serves as advisor...