46.4 F
Watsonville
December 27, 2025

About Town, Week of Jan. 7

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

Vehicle strikes 4 bicyclists on Hwy. 9

An 85-year-old woman from Boulder Creek plowed into four bicyclists Tuesday on Highway 9 in the San Lorenzo Valley. The California Highway Patrol responded to a report of a crash at 6:21pm, south of Glengarry Road. According to CHP officer Israel Murillo, the woman was driving...

75-foot cell tower approved by Planning Commission

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a 75-foot cell tower on the 1400 block of Freedom Boulevard. New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC (AT&T Wireless) under the approved proposal will rent space at Extra Space Storage, 1478 Freedom Blvd., to construct the tower with 12...

Santa Cruz County Health Officer announces retirement

gail newel
Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel on Thursday announced that she will be retiring in June. Newel was appointed to the position in July 2019. During that time, she led the county through the Covid pandemic, considered to be the largest public health crisis in...

Local seniors create exhibit for art & history museum

Opening April 5 at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH), “We’re Still Here: Stories of Seniors and Social Isolation” aims to shed light on a local crisis, as well as give visitors the tools to help.

Aptos man dies in Soquel San Jose Road crash

sirens
A 62-year-old Aptos man died Tuesday night in a solo-vehicle crash on Soquel San Jose Road. California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murillo said the man, who has not been named, was driving a gray 2004 Chevrolet Silverado northbound on Soquel San Jose Road approaching Los...

An inflated sense of fun

A Sand City family with a successful bounce-house business there has opened a second location in downtown Watsonville.

Watsonville residents may receive emergency test alerts

county of monterey emergency management logo
The County of Monterey Department of Emergency Management has begun testing a new Alert Monterey County emergency alert software and system, and Watsonville residents may receive notifications, officials advised.  Residents in certain areas of Monterey County began receiving emergency test messages earlier this week. More...

State Supreme Court validates juvenile justice law

aj gonzalez supreme court decision
SANTA CRUZ—The California Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a 2018 law prohibiting anyone 14 or 15 years old from being tried as adults is constitutional. The ruling on Senate Bill 1391 means that Adrian “AJ” Gonzalez, who is accused of kidnapping, torturing, raping and...

PVUSD trustees approve SRO program

Watsonville SRO
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved contracts with Watsonville Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office to place uniformed law enforcement officials at the district’s three comprehensive high schools as school resource officers (SROs). These SROs will...
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Powerful storms clobber Central Coast

A string of strong winter storms slammed the Central Coast over the past several days, toppling power and communication lines, knocking down scores of...

ICE becomes an autocratic tool