53.7 F
Watsonville
March 23, 2026

County’s budget cuts to Sheriff’s Office eased

County of Santa Cruz budget
SANTA CRUZ— The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an $874 million budget for the coming year that includes cuts and position reductions to every department in the county. According to County Budget Manager Christina Mowrey, the reductions include furloughs of 5-10%,...

Candidate filing for November election begins Monday

Candidates interested in running for any of the school or special districts or city offices up for election on Nov. 6 may begin to file candidate papers with either the Santa Cruz County Elections Department for districts, or the appropriate City Clerks’ Office for city offices, beginning Monday.

PHOTO: Preparing for Biden’s Santa Cruz County arrival

us presidential helicopter watsonville municipal airport Marine V-22 Osprey
An armed man keeps watch over the U.S. Presidential helicopter at Watsonville Municipal Airport Wednesday during a practice run for the arrival of President Joe Biden set for Thursday. Two massive U.S. Marine V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor airplanes arrived in concert with two helicopters at...

Kaiser Permanente Arena ‘vaccination hub’ opens tomorrow

Kaiser Permanente arena vaccine hub
Kaiser Permanente is opening a Covid-19 vaccination hub Thursday at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz for eligible members and others in the community, the health care provider announced in a press release Wednesday. Dependent upon vaccine supply, the site is expected to operate seven...

‘Keep smiling:’ Longtime Aptos High custodian dies

Robert “Bobby” Salazar, the unofficial mayor of Aptos who served as security guard and maintenance man for Aptos High School for more than four decades, and who was known for his ever-present smile and exhortations for everyone he met to “keep smiling,” died March 17 after a battle with cancer. He was 62.

Santa Cruz METRO driver shares his ‘love’ for the job

Santa Cruz METRO
WATSONVILLE—In November Uriel Mendoza of Watsonville will mark 21 years of being a bus driver for Santa Cruz METRO. When asked what he liked about his job, he plainly responded, “My job.”  His preferred bus route? “I like all of them,” he said. He said his customers are...

PHOTO: Turn proves too tight for big rig

A big rig is stalled in an awkward angle at the corner of Buena Vista Drive at San Andreas Road Friday.

PHOTO: Four-vehicle crash on Main Street

Watsonville Police investigate a four-vehicle crash on Main Street Monday.

Local paint company restores iconic Pajaro Valley buildings

watsonville house
They’ve painted over 1,000 houses in Watsonville. Now the Hernandez father and sons company are on a roll, tackling a massive paint job for one of the most prominent historical homes in Watsonville, the 1901 Porter-Pista home on the corner of East Beach and...

New facility a boost for area youths | About Town

An upbeat ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance headquarters at the corner of East Lake and Brewington avenues unfolded under sunny skies Thursday in Watsonville. The new facility is an expansion of PVPSA, a local nonprofit that aims...
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Pajaro Valley High senior announces run for school board

Eriberto Estrada went to his first Pajaro Valley Unified School District board meeting during his sophomore year at Pajaro Valley High School. He says...