PVUSD Board censures embattled Trustee Acosta
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a resolution to censure embattled Trustee Georgia Acosta.
Trustees Kim De Serpa, Maria Orozco, Jennifer Schacher and Jennifer Holm approved the censure. Acosta and Oscar Soto dissented.
Trustee Daniel Dodge, Jr. abstained, saying that...
Central Coast, Bay Area fires have leveled more than 1,000 structures
Four major fires throughout the Central Coast and greater Bay Area have destroyed at least 1,055 structures, various Cal Fire agencies announced Saturday morning.
The SCU Lightning Complex, the River Fire, the Carmel Fire and the CZU August Lightning Complex have chewed through 513,305 acres...
Judge approves sale of Watsonville Hospital to health care district
WATSONVILLE—A federal judge on Wednesday approved the sale of Watsonville Community Hospital to the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District (PVHD), ending the chapter of a story in which the facility was at imminent risk of closure, and beginning another of local ownership.
Judge Elaine Hammond of...
Iconic Santa Cruz florist expands into East Lake Village
WATSONVILLE—On Dec. 1, the East Lake Shopping Center in Watsonville welcomed its newest addition. Ferrari Florist, located at 928 East Lake Ave., is now the third store for the 74-year-old business in Santa Cruz County.
Five years ago, Brian and Marilyn Piazza noticed that a...
PV Water Board approves College Lake Project
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency Board of Directors on Wednesday voted unanimously to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) and approve the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project.
“This project was ranked by the Basin Management Plan (BMP) Committee as one of the...
Local winery honors Watsonville legend “One-Eyed Charley”
If you’ve ever strolled through Pioneer Cemetery in Watsonville, you might have come across the final resting place of Charley Darkey Parkhurst, a stagecoach driver, farmer and rancher who has become a local legend since their death in 1879.
Born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst, Charley was...
Watsonville officials disappointed by split RTC vote on rail plan
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—When the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) on April 1 narrowly rejected a business plan that laid out how to pay for a countywide passenger rail system, it sidelined a project that could have benefitted thousands of South County residents...
Gov. Newsom announces assistance for Covid-impacted businesses
SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced that the state will provide temporary tax relief for eligible businesses that have been impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.
Under the plan, taxpayers filing less than $1 million in sales tax receive an automatic three-month income tax extension. It also...
PVUSD Trustees appoint new member
During a special meeting Friday afternoon, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees appointed a new member to fill the seat left vacant when Kim De Serpa resigned to begin her role as a county supervisor.
The board interviewed two candidates who applied...
Seacliff State Beach altered ‘significantly’
SEACLIFF—The tidal surge that ravaged Seacliff State Beach on Jan. 5 destroyed much of the park’s protective sea wall, all but destroyed the campground and ravaged the pier so severely that the entire structure is “actively failing” and likely beyond repair.
That was the message...
Body identified as missing woman
A woman’s body recovered on Jan. 18 in the area of Smith Grade and Moore Ranch Road has been identified as 73-year-old Jeanne Burke,...
