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Watsonville
September 29, 2025

Special meeting set to discuss Watsonville city manager appointment

Watsonville city council
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday regarding the city’s search for a new chief executive. The meeting, scheduled for 5:30pm in the City Council Chambers, comes a few days after news broke that current city manager Matt Huffaker had been...

Cal Fire CZU chief announces retirement

Ian Larkin cal fire
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Ian Larkin, who has headed up Cal Fire’s San Mateo Santa Cruz Unit since May 2016, has announced his retirement, capping off a career that spanned three decades. Born and raised in Watsonville, Larkin now lives in Scotts Valley with his wife and...

Author releases new installment of ongoing mystery series

WATSONVILLE—Local author and former Pajaronian editor Michael Wallace has released the ninth installment of his ongoing Quill Gordon Mystery series. The series follows the private investigator as he solves mysteries, usually in familiar west coast settings. Wallace released the first book in 2012, and has...

Photo: 10 displaced by fire

watsonville fire
Firefighters from multiple agencies deal with an early morning fire in the Vista Montaña housing complex in Watsonville that displaced 10 adults. Watsonville Fire Division Chief Corey Schaefer said the initial call came in at 1am for the fire on the second floor of...

Photo: Watsonville honors the dead

Watsonville day of the dead
Elvira Villacaña (from right) and her daughters, Daisy Nuñez and Nancy Reyes don tradition; clothing and costume in celebration of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, in the Watsonville City Plaza Friday. Sponsored by the Watsonville Film Festival and the Santa...

Fighting our culture of contempt

Memo from Pastor Rene Schlaepfer
One day my wife Laurie is on NextDoor, the social media site, and sees someone post, “Hey, just saw a coyote in my backyard, make sure your cat is safe indoors.” Almost instantly that seemingly innocuous text ignites into a full-fledged neighbor war, complete with...

Photo: Traffic blocks go up at Kmart property

kmart building
A crew from Vacant Property Security installs one of several traffic blocks in the parking lot of the former Kmart on Freedom Boulevard. On Oct. 12, the Watsonville City Council started the process of declaring the abandoned property a public nuisance due to illegal...

Photo: Airport Boulevard work begins

Airport Boulevard
Construction workers tear out the surface of a portion of Airport Boulevard Wednesday. Patrice Theriot, principal engineer for the city of Watsonville, said the project involves replacing several hundred feet of road surface on Airport Boulevard from Freedom Boulevard, west to the existing road...

PVUSD trustees approve plan for emergency funds

pvusd trustees
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a spending plan for the district’s third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, which comes through the American Rescue Plan as a way to help schools nationwide recover...
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Watsonville scores pair of second-half TDs to beat Pacific Grove |...

Watsonville junior quarterback Edwin Cornejo found his way running into the end zone late in the fourth quarter, and the Wildcatz rallied back from...