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Watsonville
January 29, 2026

Photo: Fire levels outbuildings in Las Lomas

las lomas fire
Flames engulf a log pile and several outbuildings on a hillside above the 100 block of Hudson Landing Road Friday in Las Lomas. North Monterey County Fire Chief Joel Mendoza said the 1pm fire was about an acre in size. Flames raced across dray...

Trina Coffman-Gomez running for Watsonville City Council District 6

Four years after she left the Watsonville City Council, having served the maximum two terms, Trina Coffman-Gomez is again running for the District 6 seat. Coffman-Gomez was a council member from 2012-2020, terming out just before she would have been mayor. A Watsonville native, she attended...

Watsonville City Council split over redistricting plan

Watsonville city council
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at a special meeting on Jan. 20 narrowly advanced a new district map that would largely stick to the status quo, but make a significant change between the 2nd and 6th districts. The map, dubbed the Rivera Plan, would move areas...

Briefs: Elks raise funds to help children in need

More than $4.4 million has been contributed this year by members of Elks Lodges throughout California and Hawaii to be used in treating children with disabilities. Warren Anderson, Exalted Ruler of Watsonville Lodge No. 1300 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, contributed $1,917.07...

State education officials release guidance for reopening schools

covid-19 schools
SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Education (CDE) on Monday released a set of guidelines for schools statewide to use as they seek to reopen in the fall, nearly three months after they closed to slow the spread of Covid-19. While the state agency leaves actual policymaking...

Potentially disease-carrying mosquitoes found near Watsonville

Santa Cruz County
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County officials this week announced that they have found in Watsonville a species of mosquito known to carry the diseases dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever. Those diseases are not currently found in California, and none of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—found...

PVUSD to lay off two dozen employees

PVUSD
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a proposal to lay off as many as 24 classified employees, a move district officials say was necessary due to declining enrollment. Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez told the board that the district has lost...

4 arrested, gun recovered in Highway 1 chase

california highway patrol highway 1 chase hyundai tucson
Four men were arrested early Tuesday morning following a high-speed car chase that started in Watsonville. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the ordeal began when a CHP officer tried to pull over a black 2017 Hyundai Tucson on southbound Highway 1 north of...

Man shot on Madison Street

Watsonville shooting
WATSONVILLE—A man was shot in a brazen daylight attack on Madison Street on New Year’s Eve. Watsonville Police Department Sgt. Henry Robles said the suspect, a man in his early 20s wearing black clothing, shot the male victim on the street around 4:30pm near the...

College Lake water right approved

college lake
In a unanimous decision, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) approved Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s (PV Water) water right application for the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project. The approval, coming nearly four years after application submittal, means that PV Water will have...
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Supervisors greenlight SHIELD to protect immigrants

Santa Cruz County’s immigrant community got a measure of protection Tuesday after the Board of Supervisors approved an ad hoc subcommittee that will address potential...