News

A new battery storage facility slated for a lot on the outskirts of Watsonville has some residents on edge after a Jan. 16 fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant, which sent a thick column of black smoke into the air and closed Highway...

WATSONVILLE—The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, together with the Martinelli and Silliman families, have protected the Silliman Ranch on Highway 129 from development.  Under the agreement signed the week before Thanksgiving, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County purchased the development rights to the...

Editor’s note: This is the first half of a two-part series about Watsonville High graduate Joanne Buob Martin, class of 1962. WATSONVILLE—Joanne Buob Martin was part of Watsonville High’s 1962 graduating class, the largest class to date, with 355 seniors. It was also the graduating...

James Joseph “Jim” Barsi, who ran his eponymous liquor store on East Lake Avenue for a half-century before selling the business and retiring in 2019, died on Jan. 26. He was 83.  Eddie Casillas said he began working for Barsi when he was 16, and...

More than 400 area students were given a running start for the upcoming school year when they were presented with free backpacks loaded with school supplies Saturday in an upbeat gathering in Watsonville Plaza.  Thanks to the Salvation Army in Watsonville, Freedom Rotary Club, Scouting...

Work is underway to bore a tunnel under Highway 1 in Watsonville, which is part of the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s College Lake Water Supply pipeline project. The weeks-long tunnel job, just south of Riverside Drive, will not interrupt Highway 1 traffic flow, said...

WATSONVILLE—A dragon is coming to life in Watsonville.  Thanks to the efforts of Watsonville artist Kathleen Crocetti and a team of historians, designers, a benefactor and others, a 22-foot mosaic-covered water dragon is in the works and will soon rest atop a non-traditional Chinese style...

Selena tribute set for Saturday A tribute to the late singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez is slated for Saturday in Romo Park in downtown Watsonville. Put on by Arte del Corazon, the free, five-hour event will include music by DJ Moi, Mariachi Illusion, activities for all ages, Selena...

Many of the several dozen people gathered at the Santa Cruz County Government Center Friday afternoon were in tears as Rolla Alaydi described her numerous family members who have been killed or injured in the war in Gaza. Alaydi was one of several speakers for...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A little more than a week ago, a series of weather calamities began that assailed the Central Coast, bringing torrential rain that flooded several neighborhoods and destroyed multiple homes. In addition, a coastal swell decimated the wharf at Seacliff State Beach and rendered...