Student activism nets new dress code
WATSONVILLE—In the coming weeks, students at Watsonville High School—along with school administrators, teachers and parents—will join forces to hammer out a new dress code, a set of policies all parties hope will promote campus safety and encourage a modicum of decorum while still allowing...
Watsonville Hospital begins operations under new owner
WATSONVILLE—Thursday marked the end of an era—and the beginning of a new one—as Watsonville Community Hospital officially became a public entity, to be controlled by a local board of elected representatives.
The purchase followed a months-long fundraising campaign—the largest in Santa Cruz County history—that netted...
PVUSD Trustees approve retention bonuses, other incentives
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Aug. 24 approved a series of bonuses and supplemental payments aimed at retaining teachers and school employees.
Every teacher, school worker and administrator employed since April 1—and who plans to stay with the district through...
Watsonville sales tax measure campaign kicks off
WATSONVILLE—Around 70 people gathered at Jalisco Restaurant on Wednesday to kick off the campaign for the proposed half-cent sales tax measure that will go before voters in the Nov. 8 midterm election.
Measure R—placed on the ballot by Watsonville City Council in June—would raise the...
Local students participate in American Legion civics program
WATSONVILLE—Three students from Watsonville recently took part in a weeklong summer program in Sacramento that teaches young people to be part of their local and state governments.
The program—called Boys State—is sponsored by the American Legion. The event includes such activities as mock legislative sessions...
Caltrans proposes ‘bold’ $25M reimagining of Watsonville’s Main Street
WATSONVILLE—The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the City of Watsonville are on the cusp of beginning a 10-year endeavor that will completely reshape the city’s major arterial road.
Caltrans has committed to a $25 million renovation of its roughly seven-mile thoroughfare of Highway 152...
Carrillo sentenced to life in prison without parole
SANTA CRUZ—The man who slaughtered Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller during a violent crime spree two years ago was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Steven Carrillo, 34, also received prison time for attempting to kill four other...
Hospital to begin under new owners Sept. 1
WATSONVILLE—With the purchase of Watsonville Community Hospital now a certainty, the nonprofit formed to make the acquisition got another bit of good news Tuesday when Kaiser Permanente announced it was donating $4.5 million to the cause.
With a goal of $67 million to cover the...
Victims ID’d in fatal plane crash
WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Coroner has identified the three victims in a midair collision between two airplanes on Aug. 18 above Watsonville Municipal Airport.
Carl Kruppa, 75, and Nannette Plett-Kruppa, 67, both of Winton, Calif. were aboard the Cessna 340 twin-engine plane, while Stuart...
Federal investigation into fatal plane collision underway
WATSONVILLE—The National Transportation Safety Board has begun its investigation into a Thursday mid-air collision between two airplanes above Watsonville Municipal Airport that killed three people and one dog.
NTSB Airsafety Investigator Fabian Salazar said during a Friday afternoon press conference that the probe into the...
Mariners place third in Division III race | CCS boys cross...
Aptos senior Vincent Sanford-Carroll threw on a pair of headphones prior to last week’s race at the Central Coast Section Cross Country Championships in...