News

WATSONVILLE—For the past year, a group of five local artists has held a series of virtual pop-up art sessions, where participants learned about the artists’ process and were given guidance on how to create their own work. Now, Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) is displaying the...

WATSONVILLE—Since 2017, Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) has partnered with nonprofit El Sistema Santa Cruz/Pajaro Valley to bring music education and performance to local students. During the pandemic, El Sistema has continued its work both virtually and in-person, with small cohorts of students signed...

WATSONVILLE—Federal, state and local officials gathered at Atri Park in Watsonville Monday at a public ceremony to sign a design agreement for the Pajaro River Flood Management Project.  The long-awaited $400 million effort is designed to reduce flood risk for the “disadvantaged” communities of Pajaro...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—When Sandra Nichols was elected to the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) Board of Trustees, the long-time educator—known for being well-prepared for meetings—says she made it a point to attend every one. In her time on the PVUSD board, which lasted from...

Founded in 2013, the Birchbark Foundation grew out of what local veterinarian Dr. Merrianne Burtch saw as an unmet need in the community.  Burtch noticed that pet owners were facing fixable yet unaffordable crises with their animals, which often resulted in the only option being...

LODI—A 57-year-old Watsonville woman who died April 17 after her parachutes failed to open while skydiving in Lodi has been identified as Sabrina Call, the San Joaquin Sheriff-Coroner confirmed. Witnesses said that both her main and reserve parachutes became tangled. The incident occurred at about 2:30pm...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The former Minneapolis police officer who was seen in a video killing a Black man by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes was convicted Tuesday on counts of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Derek Chauvin faces at least 12...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville High senior Josh Rocha stood on the sidelines with 40 seconds left in the game, watching every second tick away until the scoreboard read all zeros.  “I was just soaking it in, this is my last time I’m ever going to put on this...

PRUNEDALE—A 35-year-old Watsonville man was injured in a butane honey oil lab explosion in Prunedale Monday. Francisco Ponce was in the area when Monterey County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the 16000 block of Meridian Road around 3pm to investigate a report of an explosion. Ponce...

WATSONVILLE—A Moss Landing woman was killed early Sunday in a head-on DUI collision near the Airport Boulevard exit on Highway 1. Johanna Mayapuga, 22, of Santa Cruz, was reportedly under the influence of alcohol and driving the wrong way on Southbound Highway 1 in her...