Watsonville cracks down on food trucks as officials weigh changes to rules
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is cracking down on unpermitted food trucks and weighing whether to rework its rules regarding the mobile food vendors in the coming year.
The City Manager’s office has received numerous complaints about food trucks from several brick-and-mortar restaurant owners over the...
Advocates question whether pilot pesticide alert program will provide transparency
Santa Cruz is one of four counties in the state to try out pesticide notification pilot projects. For a certain class of pesticides known as California Restricted Materials, growers must submit notices of intent to the county agricultural commissioner’s office 24 hours before application.
The...
Fire in the Sky event returns | News Briefs
The Fire in the Sky and airport open house event will return to Watsonville Municipal Airport on Sept. 4, bringing with it, among other things, a fireworks show, food vendors and a flyover.
The free event starts at 6:30pm. Masks will be required and a...
Flooding closes Pajaro Middle School, students relocate to Lakeview
PAJARO—As Pajaro residents wait for waters to recede and for officials to lift the evacuation orders that have beset the small community since the March 11 levee breach, hundreds of Pajaro Middle School students are attending class three miles away at Lakeview Middle School.
Pajaro...
Cabrillo College chooses new president
Cabrillo College on Tuesday named the candidate they hope will take the helm as president and Superintendent.
If approved by the college’s Board of Trustees on Jan. 12, Jenn Capps will start on Jan. 20, the college announced in a press release.
Capps currently serves as...
Watsonville police officer retires after 29 years
After working behind the badge of Watsonville Police for nearly three decades, officer Lee Katich waved goodbye Tuesday.
“It’s been quite a good ride,” Katich said during a festive farewell party Tuesday evening that included Katich’s wife and two children and a roomful of officers...
Funeral homes adjust to COVID-19
WATSONVILLE—As the world adjusts to the spread of COVID-19, big changes are underway at area mortuaries and funeral homes as well.
Gone are the days—for now—of large gatherings, whether at a football game, concert, theater or at funerals and graveside services. That puts congregating to...
Two arrested for weapons, drug charges
RIO DEL MAR—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies on Monday arrested two men for drug and gun charges after one of them pointed a loaded gun at another driver in a road rage incident.
Damian Hernandez, 20, and Israel Ibarra, 18, both Morgan Hill residents, were...
PVUSD to close Pacific Coast Charter School
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved a proposal to close Pacific Pacific Coast Charter School after declining enrollment and chronic absenteeism made the school financially unsustainable.
Located in the district’s headquarters known as The Towers, the hybrid school...
Swedish acoustic trio to play in Aptos
The Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay and the Community Music School are co-promoting a performance by the acclaimed Swedish acoustic trio Väsen. They will perform on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 125 Canterbury Drive in Aptos.
New leadership, shared priorities: Investing in the future of public safety
As we begin a new year, I want to reflect on the direction of public safety in Watsonville and the leadership helping guide that...





















