News

By Jazmin Juarez, Special to the Pajaronian SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The coronavirus has brought many changes to people’s everyday lifestyle. Among them, the transition from in-person to online classes for students. In Santa Cruz County, Cabrillo College switched to online courses on March 16. The school has...

WATSONVILLE—A group of young girls aged 6 to 11 lined up with their bikes at Ramsay Park on Sunday afternoon, eager to learn about riding the park’s new pump track. The free clinic was organized by Bike Santa Cruz County with the help of the...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the spread of coronavirus a global health emergency, saying that its spread can still be halted if all countries take strong countermeasures. “...all countries should be prepared for containment, including active surveillance, early detection, isolation and...

The Watsonville High School Foundation on May 12 honored this year’s inductees into the school’s Hall of Fame. The awards ceremony was launched in 1986 as a way to showcase the achievements of Wildcatz alumni. This year’s honorees are Charles Johnston, who graduated in 1961, and...

WATSONVILLE—When Alicia Martinez first took on the position of Interim Library Director for the Watsonville Public Library, bringing a Poet Laureate Program to the city was one of her goals.  On Tuesday those plans got underway: the library launched a nomination period, which will close...

LAS LOMAS—The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 54-year-old Las Lomas man for allegedly soliciting sex from two young boys in north Monterey County. Two boys, ages 7 and 11, said that a man who called himself Rene had asked them to perform oral...

CALIFORNIA—Nineteen people were shot and killed in three separate mass shootings in California in three days. On Monday around 2:20pm four people were killed at the Mountain Mushroom Co. on Highway 92 in the surf-side city of Half Moon Bay. A short while later the...

WATSONVILLE—Fruition Brewing owner David Purgason was making deliveries on Calabasas Road when he suddenly had an idea. As he drove by Whiskey Hill Farms, he remembered it was the site of Blume Distillation, a biofuel technology company that converts waste into alcohol-based fuel and other...

WATSONVILLE—A familiar face has stepped in as the new operator of Pinto Lake City Park. Jesus Madrigal, the president of the Watsonville Farmers Market, was recently named concessionaire for the city’s share of Pinto Lake. His company’s vision for the 78-acre park—70 of which are...

WATSONVILLE—A boy living in the San Andreas farmworker community got his Christmas wish this year: a unicycle.  The unconventional request took scouring the county’s bike shops to fulfill, but the effort was well worth it, said Gladys Anderson, who has run the Christmas Project for...