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Watsonville
October 13, 2025

Watsonville’s small businesses adjust to county’s shelter-in-place order

Santa Cruz County restaurants covid-19
WATSONVILLE—Small business owners throughout the Pajaro Valley are feeling increasing financial pressure after Santa Cruz County officials on Monday ordered all “non-essential businesses” to close their doors to slow the spread of COVID-19. The shelter-in-place order, which went into effect Tuesday and will last until...

Photos: PVUSD offices, schools raise Progress Flag

pvusd progress flag
Pajaro Valley Unified School District students and other young people raised the Progress Flag Friday during a ceremony at the district’s headquarters in Watsonville.  The event—attended by roughly 60 people, including PVUSD Board President Jennifer Holm and Vice-President Jennifer Schacher—was one of several flag-raising...

Father-son duo quietly lead Fairgrounds

The Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds are more than the annual one-week autumnal event, which itself undoubtedly takes a Herculean amount of work. There are also numerous events throughout the year including horse shows, conventions and celebrations such as quinceañeras and the Evening of Wine...

Newsom says California fires have charred 771K acres

Gavin Newsome
By Jake Pierce, Good Times News Editor Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that California’s firefighting crews are now trying to suppress 560 fires, most of them stemming from dry lightning strikes that first began Aug. 16. Statewide, 771,000 acres—an area the size of Rhode Island—have burned...

Prolific local columnist, Steve Bankhead, dies

Steve Bankhead
WATSONVILLE—Stephen Gerald Bankhead was a longtime Watsonville resident who made learning about Pajaro Valley’s history—and relaying it to the community—his passion in the latter part of his life. Most recently, he wrote the Pajaro Valley Past column for The Pajaronian, taking it over from historian...

Newsom replaces watchlist with new tiered reopening system

Newsom tiered reopening system
SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday revealed what he called a new, more “stringent” four-tiered reopening system that allows counties to open their economies depending on their Covid-19 case and test positivity rates. The new system replaces the monitoring list and removes many of the old...

Santa Cruz County’s vaccine distribution slowed by limited doses

santa cruz county Johnson & Johnson
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—At least 5,600 doses of vaccinations for the novel coronavirus have been distributed throughout Santa Cruz County, a number that county health officials at a Friday press conference said has been significantly impacted by plodding distribution from the state. Overall, the county has...

Smoky fire chars 2.2 acres

WATSONVILLE—A large portion of the Pajaro Valley was blanketed with heavy smoke Monday afternoon after a fire erupted in a brush-covered field between the Pajaro River and 30 Riverside Road. The 3:45pm incident drew a large response from Watsonville Fire, North Monterey County Fire and...

Sheriff’s office seeking missing man

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help finding a man who has gone missing in the Watsonville area, and says his disappearance is suspicious.

Pair of quakes roll through Central Coast, Bay Area

HOLLISTER — A 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook the Central Coast this afternoon, just two days shy of the 30th anniversary of the infamous Loma Prieta earthquake of Oct. 17, 1989.  The quake hit at 12:43 p.m. near Tres Pinos and Hollister. Residents from Salinas to King City...
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St. Francis, Watsonville to meet for PCAL season opener | High...

St. Francis is hosting Watsonville this weekend for the anticipated start of Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division-North play.  The crosstown rivals will square off...