News

Roughly 800 people showed up to the inaugural Nerdville, a comic-con-style event organized by Friends of Watsonville Parks and Community Services, on Sunday at the Gene Hoularis and Waldo Rodriguez Youth Center in downtown Watsonville. Organizers said they are already planning the second installment—tentatively...

PAJARO—In a factory centered in a rural stretch of Pajaro, a small team of workers and engineers was busy one Tuesday afternoon hand-building a new line of cross-country racing bicycles they hope one day will be used by Olympic athletes. The work was happening in...

The Chicano All Stars perform at the Watsonville City Plaza Thursday evening to a crowd of more than 100 people. The free live concerts are part of the city's Music in the Plaza Concert Series. Up next, on Oct. 29 at 6pm, the city...

AROMAS—A 75-year-old Aptos man died Sept. 24 in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 129, or Riverside Road, at Rogge Lane near Aromas. Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Dean Peppas. Alyssa Gutierrez of the California Highway Patrol said Peppas...

After a year and a half of pandemic challenges, Watsonville Yoga Dance & Healing Arts is once again finding its footing.  The business is settling into its new location (734 East Lake Ave. #16) while expanding its programming and services for children and adults both...

Before the CZU Lightning Complex fires decimated Big Basin Redwoods State Park, visitors who hiked the trails and camped beneath the redwoods saw different things: towering trees; various and beautiful flora and fauna; abundant wildlife, babbling brooks and starry skies.  But when Traci Bliss went...

WATSONVILLE—The sails are trimmed tight, the masts lean toward the water’s edge and the rudders carve a steady path around the final buoy toward the finish line. As a gentle breeze nudges the lead sailboat—just one meter long—to a victory, the hollers fill the...

Novella Evans is shown is in 1999 in Watsonville at age 5 in a photo to promote the upcoming Santa Cruz County Fair with her Bantam Cochin chicken, Cluck-Cluck. She is shown again 22 years later at the 2021 County Fair with another Bantam...

Eight local healthcare leaders were recognized for their contributions to health throughout the past year.   The Community Health Trust (CHT), which serves the tri-county area to ensure equitable health, awarded two organizations and six individuals with the Phil Rather Award for Leadership in Healthcare. Rather...