News

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday got a first look at how the County’s supervisorial districts could be redrawn as the decennial redistricting process nears its end. During redistricting, jurisdictions use the recent census to see how their populations have...

WATSONVILLE—David Schartow was a retired ironworker living in Paradise with his young daughter when the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed the entire town, including his home. Now homeless, Schartow, 64, has since bounced through several temporary shelters, including his current accommodations, the Comfort Inn in Watsonville....

WATSONVILLE—Matt Huffaker will leave his position as Watsonville City Manager for the same job in Santa Cruz, Watsonville city leaders confirmed with the Pajaronian Thursday afternoon.  The Santa Cruz City Council, in a press release, said it made a unanimous recommendation for Huffaker to take...

WATSONVILLE—If a group of local medical professionals and nonprofit leaders has its way, a newly established healthcare district will one day own and operate Watsonville Community Hospital (WCH). If those efforts are successful, it will likely come as a relief for South County residents who...