News

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved increases to the fees charged for new residential and commercial development within the district. The fees increased from $4.08 to $4.79 per square foot for residential construction and from 66 cents to 78...

Writer, director and actor Steve “Spike” Wong remembers the moment he realized he wanted to tell stories. He was about 5 years old and was riding the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland with his parents. He managed, he said, to convince them that the animatronic...

AROMAS—A large wildland fire in Aromas that started on July 21 charred 104 acres and was 100% contained as of Thursday, Cal Fire spokesperson Cecile Juliette said. At 3:21pm on July 21, two fires broke out behind Graniterock’s AR Wilson Quarry east of Aromas. Cal...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) Board of Directors unanimously approved the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Addendum at its meeting on July 20. As part of the action, the Board approved an updated version of the project that...

WATSONVILLE—Earth-moving equipment is carving up three lots off of Freedom Boulevard to make way for more than 200 affordable housing units set to be completed by nonprofit developers over the next two years. MidPen Housing is leading projects on Miles and Atkinson lanes that combined...

WATSONVILLE—Two days after Watsonville Police Department faced scrutiny for short videos posted to social media that showed one of its officers punching a man multiple times during an arrest on Tuesday, the department released the emergency dispatch calls and body-worn camera footage of the...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Police Department is facing criticism after a video was posted to social media showing one of its officers punching a man multiple times during an arrest on Tuesday night. In a video posted to multiple social media platforms this week, two officers responding...

WATSONVILLE—Five candidates have pulled papers to possibly run for Watsonville City Council in the upcoming Nov. 8 election, a key decision day that will see major turnover in South County leadership. Current Watsonville Mayor Ari Parker is running for reelection in District 7, which encompasses...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Rotary welcomed a special guest to its regular meeting Wednesday: John Laird, state senator for California’s District 17. Laird, who was sworn in December 2020, was previously elected for the 27th District in 2002-06. He has served as California Secretary for Natural Resources, as...

WATSONVILLE—Dozens of City of Watsonville employees, Watsonville residents, community organizers, elected leaders and nonprofit chiefs cycled through the Community Room at the Civic Plaza to welcome new city manager Rene Mendez on Wednesday evening. Mendez, who took over as the city’s chief executive on July...