News

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday fired Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez after a closed-session meeting that delayed the beginning of the public session by more than two hours. The decision came after a 4-3 vote, with trustees Jennifer Holm, Maria Orozco...

WATSONVILLE—Drive-thrus will be back on the Watsonville City Council’s menu at Tuesday’s meeting. The council will hear an appeal of a Planning Commission decision from late last year that stopped the development of a proposed business park at Main Street and Auto Center Drive. Boos Development...

WATSONVILLE—A group of about 25 farmers, environmentalists and community leaders gathered at the Watsonville Nature Center on July 8 to officially kick off a campaign to renew a landmark Watsonville ballot measure passed in 2002. The Committee for Planned Growth and Farmland Protection recently filed...

WATSONVILLE—Plans by a local grower to transform a small plot of land owned by Watsonville Municipal Airport into an organic farm have come to an abrupt end. Adrian Mondragon, who owns Urban Organics, says he was evicted from the property in September after he and...

WATSONVILLE—Labor, fair wages, equality at the workplace and health care for workers came into sharp focus Monday—Labor Day—for the annual Labor Day Picnic at Romo Park in downtown Watsonville. The event is put on by the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, which consists of...

WATSONVILLE—A family of a man who died from Covid-19 at Watsonville Post Acute Center (WPAC) has sued the facility. Donald Wickham, 94, died on Oct. 10. He was one of 16 residents who died after contracting the virus. According to the lawsuit filed Nov. 10 by...

Judy Stabile (third from right) was named a Paul Harris Fellow Tuesday evening by members of Freedom Rotary. Trina Coffman-Gomez, president of Freedom Rotary (second from right), said Stabile was singled out for her "extraordinary" contributions to the art community, especially with her role...

I started working for the Pajaronian in February 1997. As a news gatherer, that translates to a lot of blank pages being filled over the years with news and photos of what’s going on. Of those 23 years as a journalist, 2020 most assuredly...

As students across the state prepare to return to the classroom from their summer break, school districts are faced with a vexing problem: declining enrollment and chronic absenteeism—both of which have been growing every year—are combining to take a bite out of annual revenues,...

Editor's note: This story was updated from an earlier version to correct errors in reporting. About 100 Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) classified workers—bus drivers, mechanics, janitors and food services employees, among others—gathered in front of district headquarters in Watsonville Wednesday calling for...