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Watsonville
July 4, 2025

Street racing suspect found with drugs

drug bust watsonville
An 18-year-old man was arrested late Tuesday after Watsonville Police caught him street racing. Michelle Pulido, spokeswoman for WPD, said a night shift officer was patrolling on the 500 block on Main Street when he spotted two cars racing. He was able to catch up...

South County Open Studios Art Tour is here

Hermelinda Vasquez-Matias
This weekend, 127 artists will open their studios, including 28 participating for the first time. The public is invited to explore the free self-guided Open Studios Art Tour by visiting artists from the Pajaro Valley to Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor between 11am and 5pm...

TODAY: Emergency alert test to cell phones, radio, TV

FEMA federal emergency management agency logo
At 11:20am today, anyone with a cell phone can expect an emergency alert from the federal government.  The alert is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission. The national test will consist...

New officers welcomed at Watsonville Police

watsonville police department new officers
Watsonville Police Department formally welcomed five new officers at a promotional badge pinning and awards ceremony Wednesday. Close to 150 people packed the City Council Chambers for the two-hour event that drew top brass from Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties, the Santa Cruz...

Farms to open doors to the public

Prevedelli Farms
Starr Linden and Andy Griffin stand on a gentle slope overlooking part of their sprawling Watsonville farm, each of them taking turns describing the process of creating the property’s centerpiece—a hand-built labyrinth of 3,000 fragrant lavender plants. “This was a Covid project,” Griffin said proudly. Using...

Pajaro Middle School students could return for the 2024-25 year

pajaro middle school flood
When the Pajaro River Levee broke during heavy winter rains in March, floodwaters rushed into the town of Pajaro, displacing hundreds of residents and businesses. It also inundated Pajaro Middle School, forcing the school to close while work crews and district officials assessed the damage...

Power plant fires explored at Town Hall meeting

dave gabbard pacific gas and electric
Monterey County officials hosted a town hall meeting Sept. 20 to allow residents to get information and share concerns about three fires at the Moss Landing Lithium Ion Battery Energy Storage System. The two-hour meeting in Castroville included Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church, Senator John...

Granite Construction sustainability manager honored at UN

raven adams
A local woman who leads Granite Construction’s sustainability program traveled to New York on Sept. 17, where she was recognized by the United Nations’ Global Compact Network USA, a program that encourages companies to follow human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption principles. Sustainability Manager Raven...

Briefs: ​​Former Pajaronian editor to sign books

Michael Wallace
​​Former Pajaronian editor to sign books In 1971, three men pulled off a daring robbery of an armored car in the Central Valley and escaped with more than $200,000. They were never caught, and the money was never traced. Three decades later, a retired insurance investigator,...

New laundromat opens in East Lake Village

robert ruiz laundry room east lake village shopping center
A new laundromat has opened in the East Lake Village Shopping Center.  Owner Robert Ruiz said Laundry Room features 30 driers and 35 heavy-duty washing machines that can handle from two to eight loads (80 pounds) of wash. The 2,000-square-foot facility, which replaces a former laundromat...
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What Makes Watsonville Community Hospital—and America—Great

Thirty-three years ago, while my family was preparing for a birthday party, I decided to arrive early. My mother was shopping for a cake...