News

WATSONVILLE—Empower Watsonville, a youth leadership group that aims to amplify young voices in local government, hosted its annual conference at the Gene Hoularis and Waldo Rodriguez Youth Center on Dec. 2. Empower Watsonville is a health policy program of Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance...

More than 6,000 people in the Watsonville area are without power due to an outage likely caused by the wind and rain storm that ravaged Santa Cruz County on Saturday. According to PG&E spokeswoman Angela Lombardi, heavy winds ranging from 40-70 miles per hour downed...

WATSONVILLE—Work has resumed on Watsonville Brillante, a massive outdoor mural project on the exterior walls of the six-story Civic Plaza parking garage. The new installation features colorful panels depicting cultures from around the globe, plus panels for all 32 states of Mexico. The work is...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Postmaster is warning residents to take steps to prevent mail theft after several recent thefts have been reported throughout the city. According to Postmaster Alejandra Alvarado, there have been as many as three reports per week since November of stolen mail and packages,...

WATSONVILLE—A plethora of teachers addressed Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Board of Trustees Wednesday night, asking for pay increases they say would help them live in Santa Cruz County and help the district retain its educators. District officials, meanwhile, say there is not enough in...

Miguel Cervantes works on repairing the frames for the windows at St. Patrick’s Church in Watsonville. He said the work is in the final stages for the stained glass windows at the church that was designed by famed architect William H.Weeks in 1903.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the establishment of an agency that will have independent oversight of the Sheriff’s Office. The Supervisors will hear a second reading of the new ordinance creating the Office of the Inspector General...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is searching for residents 50 years of age or older to serve on its new Senior Action Committee (SAC). Members of this volunteer committee will advise the city and other local jurisdictions by representing the perspectives, concerns and needs of Watsonville’s...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission on Dec. 1 approved a contract with an engineering company that will conduct an initial study of a passenger rail line that could one day transport passengers along the breadth of the county. The work by Omaha,...

WATSONVILLE—Two local arts organizations are hosting a four-day Holiday Boutique this week at the historic Porter Building in downtown Watsonville. Arte Del Corazón (ADC), a group that has been staging open-air art shows, markets and events throughout Watsonville since 2019, is organizing the boutique with...