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Watsonville
April 26, 2026

Watsonville Center for the Arts is the culmination of years of work

Watsonville Center for the Arts
WATSONVILLE—A new arts and culture hub will soon open in downtown Watsonville, acting as a home base for a number of longstanding organizations, education programs and more. Watsonville Center for the Arts, 375 Main St., is the culmination of decades of work by local groups...

Update: SC Police investigate 3 shootings in less than a week

The Santa Cruz Police Department is looking into three separate shooting incidents between July31 and Tuesday night.

PHOTO: Watsonville Public Library marks Black History Month

black history month watsonville public library
A selection of books and videos, in English and Spanish, are on display at the Watsonville Public Library’s main branch on Main Street as part of Black History Month. Titles such as “Malcolm X,” “The New Negro,” “Becoming Michelle Obama” and “His Truth is...

Builders to pay $125K for mishandling Aptos Village storage tank

The Santa Cruz County Superior Court ordered Barry Swenson Builders, Inc., to pay $125,000 recently as part of a settlement of a civil-environmental prosecution.

New cutout mural to be installed near Watsonville Nature Center

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Nature Center will soon be getting a new neighbor, in the form of a 14-foot tall white egret. “Great White Egret” was designed and created by artist John Cerney of Salinas, who is known for constructing giant mural cutouts and placing them along...

Volunteers clear truckloads of trash from Pajaro River

pajaro river cleanup
WATSONVILLE—Armed with grabbers, cans, garbage bags and gloves, more than 25 volunteers gathered at Murphy Crossing Road early on July 29 for a community cleanup of a portion of the Pajaro River on the outskirts of Watsonville. The volunteers picked up plastic, cans, bottles, mattresses,...

PHOTOS: Mosaics on the move in downtown Watsonville

watsonville brillante rodriguez street parking structure downtown
A new phase of the massive outdoor mural project, Watsonville Brillante, was unveiled recently along the Rodriguez Street side of the six-floor parking structure. Around 60 mosaic panels make up phase seven of the 10-phase project that features themes of Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Norway,...

State Supreme Court to decide on juvenile justice law

AJ Gonzalez court 5-17
SAN FRANCISCO—The family of an 8-year-old girl who was allegedly raped, tortured and murdered by a 15-year-old suspect is urging the California Supreme court to overturn a law that could allow him to walk free when he is 25. A.J. Gonzalez, now 21, is facing...

Protesters hit the streets for May Day

In concert with scores of protests, marches and rallies around the globe on May Day—or International Worker's Day—Watsonville and Santa Cruz took to the streets in solidarity with workers, and to show displeasure with the Trump administration.  Waving signs and chanting theirdisapproval of the president’s...

Freedom Fire forces evacuations just north of Watsonville

Santa Cruz county winds fires
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Heavy winds pummeled the Central Coast Monday night and into Tuesday, causing numerous power outages, scores of power lines to crash to the ground and several wildland fires, including a large one just north of Watsonville. Dubbed the Freedom Fire by Cal Fire’s...
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Letters to the Editor, April 24-30

Keeping our eye on the Clock My father, an Air Force fighter pilot, and our family, were stationed in Yokohama Japan in 1947 as part...