Victim in Pleasure Point kidnapping incident found dead
PLEASURE POINT—The man found dead late Tuesday morning in a vehicle in the Santa Cruz Mountains has been identified as Tushar Atre, who was kidnapped from his Pleasure Point home about seven hours earlier.
Atre, 50, was taken from his upscale oceanfront home about 3...
Six from PVUSD earn competitive national scholarship
As high school seniors across the nation plan their adult lives, many are considering colleges and universities. Invariably, these questions are guided by a single factor: how to pay for it.
While scholarships are an option, these are often competitive and come with a host...
Pair killed in crash identified
CORRALITOS — The man and woman that died in a solo-vehicle crash Saturday in Corralitos have been identified as Kristofer Capurro, 64, and Oxziana Rosales, 23.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said they were both from Watsonville.
California Highway Patrol officer Julieta...
Farm store and cafe opens at historic Five Mile House
CORRALITOS—Late Monday morning the Five Mile House in Corralitos was bustling with activity for the first time in 12 years.
Blossom’s Farmstore & Coffee Shop now occupies the landmark Spanish-style building on the corner of Freedom Boulevard and Corralitos Road, which has housed various businesses...
Pair arrested in stolen SUV
WATSONVILLE—Two men accused of stealing an SUV were arrested Monday after an off-duty Watsonville Police officer spotted the pair casing vehicles in a neighborhood off of Lighthouse Drive.
Christian Torres, 18, and Jesus Torres, 19, face charges for vehicle theft, petty theft, and for obstructing...
La distribución de alimentos de PVUSD se extiende hasta el semestre de otoño
WATSONVILLE—El Distrito Escolar Unificado del Valle de Pájaro (PVUSD, por sus siglas en Inglés) ha extendido su programa de desayuno y almuerzo gratis en bolsas durante el resto del semestre de otoño.
Los jóvenes de hasta 18 años pueden recoger las comidas en 15 escuelas...
City survey asks community’s thoughts, vision for downtown
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville recently released a survey that aims to gather the community’s opinions, questions, concerns and dreams about the city’s downtown corridor.
The survey will help guide the City while it develops the Downtown Watsonville Specific Plan, which will serve as a blueprint...
A life, preserved: In memory of famed local taxidermist Richard Gurnee
Watsonville native Richard Gurnee, who revolutionized the field of scientific taxidermy by pioneering a freeze-drying technique still employed worldwide, died in October after a brief illness. He was 87.
Gurnee graduated from Watsonville High School in 1954, and then studied zoology at Humboldt State University.
But...
Local grower on cutting edge of organic farming
WATSONVILLE—About 200 people disembarked three large charter buses on Green Valley Road in Watsonville early Wednesday morning as part of the EcoFarm Bus Tour, a kickoff to the EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove this week.
The tour was visiting Strong Agronomy, a management company that...
Hal Hyde, celebrated veteran, education giant, dies at 97
WATSONVILLE—Harold “Hal” Hyde, the WWII veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and helped liberate Nazi death camps before returning home to the community he loved to help found Cabrillo College and establish UC Santa Cruz, died Monday. He was 97.
Hyde’s daughter...
Valle del Pájaro park opens in South County
Santa Cruz County officials on Friday cut the ribbon on the first new park to open in South County’s unincorporated region in decades.
The 38.5-acre...
