Photo: City Plaza’s new self-cleaning restrooms arrive
A crew from Watsonville Public Works & Utilities installs new self-cleaning restrooms on the Union Street side of the City Plaza Wednesday.
The long-awaited restrooms were delivered Tuesday morning. They will feature two stalls and are expected to be completed and open to the...
Advocates question whether pilot pesticide alert program will provide transparency
Santa Cruz is one of four counties in the state to try out pesticide notification pilot projects. For a certain class of pesticides known as California Restricted Materials, growers must submit notices of intent to the county agricultural commissioner’s office 24 hours before application.
The...
Change to single-use cup fee, hotel tax increase heads to voters in June
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved two items for the June ballot which, if approved by voters, will increase taxes on hotels and vacation rentals, and change the way fees on single-use disposable cups are used.
The supervisors also...
PV Quilt Show returns to fairgrounds Feb. 26-27
WATSONVILLE—Twice a month, a group of local quilt makers gathers inside the Codiga Center & Museum at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds to create quilts for the community.
The Apple Piecers, as they call themselves, are a nonprofit that makes up to 200 quilts per...
Housing identified as key for new vision of Watsonville’s downtown
WATSONVILLE—As the three dozen or so people attending a Feb. 10 virtual meeting about the future of Watsonville’s downtown gave their final comments, one speaker’s remarks invoked some smiles and produced nodding heads from the rows of attendees displayed in their windows.
“We’re talking to...
Carrillo pleads guilty to federal murder charges
SAN FRANCISCO—The Ben Lomond man who used a homemade assault rifle to kill a federal law enforcement officer outside an Oakland courthouse nearly two years ago pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 to the charges in Northern District Court in San Francisco.
Steven Carrillo, who formerly...
Police: Man shot into Watsonville home
WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man was arrested on Feb. 11 after police say he fired a gun into a residence on the 100 block of Hill Avenue.
Several people were in the home, including two children, Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said.
Nobody was injured.
Daniel Zavala, 28,...
PVUSD examines budget, redraws trustee areas
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday got a first look at its financial picture since Gov. Gavin Newsom released his proposed budget in January, which provides a record $100 billion for schools and community colleges.
The board also revised the...
Pajaro neighborhood questions proposed farmworker housing
PAJARO—The Monterey County Planning Commission on Wednesday delayed adopting a mitigated negative declaration (MND) for a 60-unit housing project in Pajaro, to give County staff time to provide notice to the people who live near the proposed site.
Residents have expressed alarm about the project,...
Watsonville’s new districts stay close to status quo
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday meeting approved new district boundaries that feature only a handful of differences from the borders that were in place during the last decade.
Every decade following the release of census data, jurisdictions must adjust their district lines to...
Powerful storms clobber Central Coast
A string of strong winter storms slammed the Central Coast over the past several days, toppling power and communication lines, knocking down scores of...
