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Watsonville
December 17, 2025

Spicing up his life: Former tech engineer launches new food venture

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APTOS—As a young man, Bapcha Murty moved from his native Chennai, India to attend UC Los Angeles and become an engineer. He went on to a career in the Silicon Valley tech industry that spanned more than two decades in several companies. But when Murty...

Photo: Brush fire quickly tamed

watsonville slough brush fire
Watsonville firefighters chase back a brush fire that opened up around 1:35pm at the edge of Watsonville Sough near the corner of Santa Catalina and Santa Victoria avenues Tuesday. Battalion Chief Jon Goulding said firefighters got a quick handle of the blaze that had...

Deputy recovering after being shot in Salinas

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The Monterey County Sheriff’s deputy who was shot in a nine-hour standoff with an armed man in Salinas last week was released from the hospital over the weekend and is now recovering at home. On May 31, Deputy Jesse Grant was shot in the arm...

Aromas Community Park donors honored with monument

AROMAS—Two decades ago, a fundraising drive was held to install dedication bricks at Aromas Community Park. However, even after a number of community members had already donated to the effort, the project came to an abrupt halt. “It was kind of sad, and no one knew...

Road work underway in La Selva Beach

A construction worker of O'Grady Paving chisels loose a section of asphalt road surface on Breve Avenue as part of a major road improvement project around La Selva Beach.

Aptos native Nikki Hiltz punches ticket to 2024 Olympics

Aptos native Nikki Hiltz guaranteed their spot at the upcoming Summer Games following a record-setting performance at last weekend’s U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials.   The 29-year old middle-distance runner won the women’s 1500-meters finals in 3 minutes, 55.33 seconds, setting both a personal-best and...

Kaiser staffer rescues driver from burning car

On his drive to work one recent morning south on Highway 17, Chris Amos, an orthopedic technician at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Cruz County, witnessed a head-on collision of a motorcycle and a car.

Charges mount for Hwy projectiles suspect

SALINAS—Charles Lafferty, the suspect in the projectile case that injured five people and left dozens of vehicles with shattered windows since February, was back in court Monday where he pled not guilty to 79 charges. Shackled at the wrists and ankles and garbed in striped...

Cooking Club features Croatian food

A wide array of prepared dishes from Croatia fill a table at the monthly Cooking Club on the second floor of the Watsonville Public Library Thursday evening.

Photo story: local butchers ready for holiday meat orders

Freedom Meat Lockers General Manager Sarah Lewis is joined by Jeff Bassmann with their award-winning hams as they brace for holiday orders. Lewis said their business is getting turkeys and other meat products at lower costs than previous years, “and we’re glad to pass...
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Photo story: Fill the Fire Truck effort aids in toy drive

Watsonville’s interim Fire Chief, Corey Schaefer, shows a sampling of the new toys that locals donated first-ever Fill the Fire Truck Toy Drive Dec...