News

WATSONVILLE—A dozen bicyclists on the 13th annual Fire Velo bike ride rolled into Watsonville Monday afternoon for the first night of their week-long journey to Los Angeles. “We headed out of San Francisco yesterday,” said Julian Villavicengio, an EMT/firefighter with San Francisco Fire Department. “The...

WATSONVILLE—Diamond Technology Institute (Diamond Tech) in Watsonville has been awarded a top award for its programming promoting college and career readiness. The school is the recipient of a Gold Medal for its work with the Career Choices series curriculum and My10yearPlan.com. The school’s Career Choices...

This year Kitayama Brothers, a cut flower grower based in Watsonville, is celebrating its 73rd year in business.  Not long after World War II, brothers Tom and Ray Kitayama landed in San Francisco’s east bay and began working for Yoshimi Shibata and Dan Shinoda, two...

The pandemic created a frenzied real estate market in much of the United States that has yet to let up, with demand for housing still outpacing the number of homes coming on the market, giving sellers a heavy upper hand in most of the...

The Santa Cruz County Office of Education has partnered with the Santa Cruz Public Health Department to host several student Covid-19 vaccination clinics for local students. The clinics got underway Monday at Sequoia High School in Watsonville and Branciforte Middle School in Santa Cruz. Two...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police recovered two stolen vehicles inside of an hour Thursday. Watsonville Police Service Specialist Marilyn Lopez noticed the first vehicle, a 2000 Honda CRV, on Hill Avenue at Tuttle Street at 12:10pm. Lopez said she had spotted the green SUV parked in the same...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Saying that she has not yet seen reliable data that a countywide masking mandate would alter personal behavior or lower Covid-19 cases, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said she does not plan to issue a new order any time...

WATSONVILLE—After more than 30 meetings over the past eight months, the Watsonville Ad Hoc Committee on Policing and Social Equity on Aug. 4 released its final report to the public before its final meeting on Aug. 21. For Watsonville City Councilman Francisco “Paco” Estrada a...

WATSONVILLE—A line of students from a variety of Watsonville schools on Wednesday filed through the Youth N.O.W. facility loading their backpacks with school supplies—from paper, tape and paints, to notebooks, pens and glue. “It’s emotional. It’s emotional for my staff, it’s emotional for me …...

WATSONVILLE—A group of four local artists is creating a mural inside the Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley’s (CHT) building at Watsonville Hospital (WCH), where the volunteer-led Silver Circle senior program has found a new home. Kati D’Amore, Joyce Oroz, Linda Bjornson and Joanne Andrews...