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Watsonville
January 12, 2026

County sees decline in cannabis tax revenues

cannabis Watsonville city council taxes
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County is seeing a decline in its cannabis industry, with tax revenues falling far short of projections for the 2021-22 fiscal year. County officials say that current revenues of $1.68 million are lagging behind projections by more than $1 million, and...

A search for fresh air | About Town

The other day I saw someone had dressed up the surfer statue on the westside of Santa Cruz as a firefighter. I imagine it's some form of acknowledgement of the hard work firefighters are doing in battling our wild land blazes. • Maybe desperation has hit...

Watsonville homicide victim was striving to ‘clean up’ life, mother says

adrian ayala sudden brennan street homicide altar memorial
WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville man who was shot and killed Sunday afternoon in downtown was working to turn his life around, his mother said. On Wednesday, at a large makeshift altar at the site of where her son died, Roxanne Ortiz said Adrian Ayala, 19, was one...

LAFCO hires new executive officer

The Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Cruz County announced Joe Serrano as its next executive officer.

Pain And Progress In Pajaro

Tarmo Hannula and Todd Guild contributed to this story Jerry Castro has lived in the same house on Cayetano Street in Pajaro all his life. His parents owned it before him, he then bought it off of them. His children and their children were also...

Rotary Club of Watsonville to hold job-shadowing day

Every year, a group of Watsonville High School students takes a day away from classes for a glimpse at the possibilities their futures could hold.

Pajaro Valley Pride march, celebration returns Sunday

WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Pride (PVP) will hold its annual in-person march and celebration Sunday at the Watsonville YWCA, for the first time since 2019. PVP, an organization aiming to support South Santa Cruz County’s LGBTQ+ community, had been holding Pride events in Watsonville since 2016. Throughout...

1993 mural gets new life, larger footprint

yermo aranda
WATSONVILLE—Work began over the weekend on a major restoration of a long-standing outdoor mural at the La Manzana center. Muralist Guillermo “Yermo” Aranda, who is the creative drive behind scores of murals around Santa Cruz County, Salinas and San Diego, said it was time to...

WPD welcomes 2 new officers

WATSONVILLE—Two new police officers will officially hit the streets this weekend in Watsonville to begin their 20-week field training phase.  Michaela Barnett and Juan Castillo wrapped up their in-house training on Jan. 3, and will now work in tandem with a field training officer for...

Man arrested for DUI after injuring three

A Santa Cruz man was arrested Saturday night after allegedly injuring three pedestrians while driving drunk, California Highway Patrol officer Julieta Trenado said.
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Watsonville City Council to mull plastic bag, oversize vehicle parking ordinances

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday is set to consider two ordinances aimed at reducing plastic waste at retail checkouts and tightening rules on...

Teen arrested after chase